The OtherSide
by Corvus no Genmu
Summary: Ever wonder what lay on the other side of the looking glass? Well, let us gaze past the pristine glass to see what the lives of Kamen Riders Daikaiju would be like in other aspects and worlds. Multi-XOvers and One-Shots Galore!
1. MBase

Me: Inspired by the "What-If's" and "Could Have Been's" famous throughout the world and our community of fanfiction, I present my own series of one-shots featuring such What-If's and AU's.

Bahamut: So, which one is this one?

Me: AU, which is what these one-shots will be for the most part with mixes of What-If's. Basically, "What if the Kamen Riders landed in a different world?" Some will start at the beginning. Others in the middle. A few near the end. Depending on how well they're received I may, or may not, make a series expanding on said one-shot.

Bahamut: ... I meant, which world is this, not any of that crap!

Me: Oh. Well, if you can't guess, I ain't gonna tell ya!

Bahamut: Corvus...

Me: Fine, it's a recent television series. No more, no less!

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**DISCLAIMERS: Don't own what's not my own.**

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**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_"M-Base"_

His head was pounding and the world refused to get its ass in gear and gain a proper level of focus. All in all, Rodan was not a happy Kamen Rider. Not far from him, Anguirus was groaning as he silently pleaded with the world to please stop its rapid spinning with Baragon and Varan, both piled on top of him, reciprocating. A ways off, Gamera laid on his back, unable to get up as his 'shell' combined with his gods-awful headache enticed him to not try moving anytime soon. The only ones truly on his feet were Gojira, who wasn't spared from the terrible headache, and Caesar who had grown used to Mosura's teleportation spells.

Speaking of…

"Where is Mosura?" Caesar would later curse himself for his open-mouth as an alarm system went off in all its loud and blazingly bright glory.

"INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. LOCATION: THE DANGER ROOM. NOW INITIALIZING LEVEL FIVE PROTOCOL."

"Ow! Sonofabitch, what the hell is that?!" screeched Rodan, rising to his feet with his hands over his ears.

"Troublesome that's what…" grumbled Baragon as he stood and helped his younger brother to his feet. His hearing was much more sensitive than Rodan's but he had the foresight to turn on his hearing mufflers.

"Danger Room?" asked Anguirus, looking around. The room was quite large, three times the size of a football field, and was shaped like a dome. Quite frankly, Anguirus did not see the danger in this room.

Until the stunning laser came out and started firing on them.

The Kamen Riders were up and moving before the blasts even struck and were already well on their way in taking care of them. Gojira raised up his right arm and, with a roar of, "_Atomic Fire!_" Sent a barrage of nuclear fire at the stun-blasters in a shotgun like fashion, destroying them all near simultaneously. Before victory could be felt and questions asked, the computer system spoke up once more.

"HIGH LEVELS OF RADIATION DETECTED. MOVING TO LEVEL FOUR PROTOCOL." Multi-barreled laser-blasters, still equipped to stun, replaced their fallen comrades while robotic tentacles grew out from the floor, one grasping Anguirus tightly only to fall prey to the spikes adorning his armor. As he fell, the Scarred Rider whipped out his Ankylo Hammer and started swinging, smashing the tentacle to scrap. He spotted what looked like a control panel on the opposite side of the obviously dangerous room.

"I'm going to try and shut this place down, cover me!" he yelled, charging forward, dodging past lasers and tentacles.

"Cover you?!" Rodan cursed and sliced a tentacle into mince meat. "Damn it, where the hell did we land?!" He received no answer, as he expected, and he ran after Anguirus to strike at whatever contraption tried to inhibit him.

Gojira was busy dealing with such a contraption and had just managed to destroy a tentacle with his armored hands when a laser blast nearly took off his head. Cussing at his mistake, Gojira fired another blast of nuclear fire only to watch it disintegrate upon coming into contact with the blaster's laser energy.

Varan, seeing this, ducked under a blast and threw his Orochi-Fangs. "_Bite of the Orochi!_" He yelled, smiling as his Fangs sliced four guns down before returning to his hand. "Take that ya, ya, what the heck was that anyway?"

"Cadimium. How the hell does this place have cadmium?!" Gojira blasted a tentacle and was pleased at how well they exploded.

"The better question to ask." Caesar paused as he jumped above a whip strike to land beside Baragon, who sliced a tentacle asunder with his Orochi-Claws. "Is why. Having fun, Baragon or is this too troublesome?"

"Compared to your style of training sensei, this is easy as pie." He ran forward, brandishing his Claws which were glowing brightly with energy. "_Strike of the Orochi!_" The Orochi Warrior slammed his hands down and sent the energy through the floor, tearing it in two and damaging the last tentacle beyond use.

"FIRST WAVE DEFENSE COMPROMISED. MOVING TO LEVEL ONE PROTOCOL."

"What?! The hell happened to two and three?!" yelled Varan who jumped and clung to the wall only to find himself suddenly trapped in a metal box. Moments later, the box was sliced in half via Varan's Fangs, which he used as buzz saws against the robotic saws currently aimed at him and his teammates.

Meanwhile, Anguirus was rapidly typing away at the command panel on the far wall while Rodan provided defense for him but while the Rider of Flight was fast, the defense systems had the upper hand with the sheer number of robotic devices aimed to hinder them and hinder them badly.

"Any day now would be NICE!" Rodan sliced an errant ball-shaped robot, which resembled something he had seen in an old film once, Star something or other, before blowing back the rest with a strong gust of wind.

"I'm working on it!" Anguirus couldn't believe how many firewalls this system had. Whoever installed them was good. "But I'm better." He typed a last command and flinched as a laser beam blasted near the panel.

"DEFENSE PROTOCOLS SHUTTING DOWN." What machines were left intact crawled back to where they emerged from while those too damaged to move laid where they were.

"Good work, Anguirus." Gojira called to his friend. "Now, can you see about—"

"NOW STARTING HOLOGRAPHIC PROGRAM. PROGRAM CHOICE: THE GAUNTLET."

Before any of them could react, the metal covered room was gone, replaced by a large clearing in the middle of a jungle, unfortunately not an urban one. The sounds of exotic wildlife echoed and though they knew otherwise, the Riders' armor systems were telling them that they were indeed somehow in the middle of a rainforest jungle.

"The hell—Shut this thing off, Anguirus!" roared Varan to the older rider from where he was once clinging to a wall now a large tree trunk.

"Oh gladly, just tell me where the off switch is." The panel, along with anything remotely robotic in the room, had disappeared the instant the hologram had activated and left the Kamen Riders alone save for the individuals standing across the clearing from them.

"Who are they?" asked Baragon, confused and slightly unnerved by the appearances of these people.

In front of Caesar stood a bestial man who growled low in his throat. "SABRETOOTH."

"Hmm, rather shady looking fellow… This just might be fun after all!" Caesar cracked his knuckles.

Across from Varan, also clinging to his own tree, rested a sickly looking individual who spat out a glob of slime. "TOAD."

"Eewww… shit, that's, that's just not right." Varan shivered, already armed with several poisonous senbon.

Baragon stood across from a large boy around his age, and by large he meant huge, which, in turn, translated to fat. Ridiculously fat. "BLOB."

"Alright big boy, you want some? Come get some!" Baragon brandished his Claws and took a ready stance.

Even from where he was standing, Rodan saw the arrogant smirk on his opposing hologram's face. "QUICKSILVER."

"I'll wipe that smirk off with my sword, bastard!" Rodan brandished his Primal Blade with a hiss of steel.

Anguirus cocked his head in confusion and snickered to himself at seeing his holographic opponent, at least that's what he assumed these things were, had a glass bowl apparatus covering his head. "AVALANCHE."

"I hope his name fits his reputation otherwise this is going to get real boring…" Anguirus muttered, shouldering his Ankylo Hammer.

Gamera tilted his head and looked at the oddly dressed man whose color motif was a blend of magenta. His helmet was informing him that the energy field surrounding the man was made up of high levels of magnetic waves. "MAGNETO."

"Really, I had no idea." Gamera sighed, shaking his head. This was going to be interesting indeed.

Gojira cocked an eyebrow beneath his helmet at the mountain of a man that stood not two yards from him. "JUGGERNAUT."

"Huh… interesting…" The Black Rider supposed that the computer was answering Baragon's question as it announced each new character in turn either because it was choosing now to be helpful or was trying to intimidate them by giving the names of their opponents. Nervous they might be but afraid?

Never.

Gojira's hand drifted to his left wrist where his K-Zector laid in wait. "Kamen Riders… Tear them up!"

"CAST-ON!"

--

Logan was not one to come up with names for people on a whim, he always had a reason to call them something other than their real name or their chosen code-name. Take Kurt Wagner for example. The kid chose the name Nightcrawler as it was a connection to his past, his family back in Germany, but Logan knew he called himself that because of his outward appearance. Logan's nickname for him was nothing of the sort, well not entirely. Elf seemed to fit the energetic boy more than Nightcrawler ever could as it connected more to the elf's personality than appearance.

Then there was Evan Daniels, Ororo's… troublesome… nephew. Troublesome, not exactly a good word for the kid. The boy had an attitude and didn't take well to authority. At all. His powers may give him a perfect offense and defense, with the right training, something that Evan did not like, but it was his attitude that earned him the name Porcupine. Keep to himself and let no one else in.

Everyone of the students had a nickname all to their own but even now as he walked, or more like stalked, beside Professor Xavier towards the malfunctioning Danger Room, Logan's instincts subtly informed him that there would soon be not one but a group of new recruits sharing the same name.

Trouble.

Inputting the override code, Prof Xavier and Logan stood back as the doorway to the Danger Room slowly hissed open as the holograms shut themselves down. Smoke and steam blocked their view of who was inside. Logan suddenly frowned. The smoke should have dissipated by now even without the suction fans.

"You can come out." Xavier called into the Room. "Despite your bad welcome, you are among friends here."

Silence and then a strange whoosh of air and the smoke was gone revealing a group of men of various ages, from as young as twelve to as old as Logan appeared to be. His eyes narrowed, he recognized them for what they were near instantly and slowly changed his stance behind Xavier. These men were fighters, soldiers, and had killed before and would not hesitate to do so again if they absolutely had to.

Xavier did not miss this either but did not show any difference in emotion beside his usual placidness. "Come and let us retire upstairs. I'm sure there are a lot of questions to exchange between us."

The tallest of them, a red-hair boy with a ponytail, smirked and raised his hand. "I got one! What the hell was that and can we do it again?"

Logan looked and saw that, while disgruntled with their fellow, the others did not look too indifferent to the idea. He smiled. Yeah, definitely trouble.

For the other kids.

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To Be Continued...

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**A/N Inspiration:** _Seeing as the M-base is based off the X-gene commonly found in mutants, I always wondered how the Riders would interact with a group similar to them but sharing none of the same ideals. Let's face it, in Evolution, none of the X-Men save for Wolverine have ever had to kill anyone (intentionally) and the Riders are… well, too experienced in the act. This one-shot might branch out into other one-shots but the possibility of it becoming a full fanfiction is unlikely._

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Next Reflection...

_"Battle for Hearts"_


	2. Battle For Hearts

Me: Don't anyone forget, these one-shots are AU which means, if I so chose, I can change the arrangement of people on the team for the Riders.

Bahamut: Which means the dying may live and the living may already be dead.

Me: ... Wow, Bahamut... just... wow...

Bahamut: Yeah, that was kind of depressing wasn't it?

Me: Kind of? I don't think Eeyore could be more depressing than that!

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**DISCLAIMERS: Don't own what's not my own.**

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**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_"Battle for Hearts"_

The calm, the peace, and tranquility…

"PERVERTED MALE!"

"PSYCHOTIC BITCH!"

How quick it was to disappear so early in the morning…

Eiji suppressed a groan and rose from his futon with a frown on his face. '_You'd think those two would try and AVOID these conflicts but, noooo. They have to go out and search for them… pair of idiots…_'

Eiji preformed his morning rituals of getting dressed and giving a moment of silence to the altar at his dresser where pictures of the deceased rested in their frames. The K-Zectors of those that fell were locked and hidden in a safety-deposit box which was located in the one place no one would think to look, and he wasn't talking anytime soon.

He sighed once more and thought of how much Morisato would have loved it here… shortly before remembering how homicidally insane a few of the girls here are. Shaking his head with a sad smile on his face, Eiji exited his room and nearl bumped into a running Waka who, by the look on his face, was chasing something. The mad giggling down the hall gave a pretty good clue to the Martial Arts master.

"Wonder what Su took this time…" he sighed. "She's really got to stop pushing Waka's buttons before she does something she'll end up regretting."

--

Mitsune was not known (in)famously as the Kitsune without a good reason. Her skills at tricks and words were renowed for their duplicity and forked-tongued-ness. She was counting on this skills as she slowly opened the door and closed it shut behind her and making her way into the darkness. Her eyes, normally lidded to the point of not looking open at all, were wide as she strategically searched the room for any sign of her precious—

"They're not in here, Lady Mitsune. You can add another day to your sentence."

In her mind, Kitsune used several colorful words to describe her predicament. "Why, Sugah, I have no idea what you're talking about, I just came by to wish ya a good morning is all!"

"I'm sure," smiled Shiro as he sat up, his eyes now opened. "Which explains the 'Mission Impossible' t-shirt you're wearing."

'_Drat! I knew I should have worn something else!_' But what could she wear? Nothing she wore or did ever seemed to entice Shiro into an embarrassing situation and the fact that he was studying to be a monk didn't help her any in terms of Naru and Motoko. She left in a huff, making sure to keep the shirt pulled down enough to keep her derriere from view. She might have given him a free show when she was drunk, but not when she was sober!

Oh, and her anger had nothing to do with the fact that Shiro did not seem interested in her at all.

Most certainly not.

Shiro sighed and shook his head, wondering again why he bothered to keep his emotions under control. '_Because she's showing me Kitsune, not Mitsune._' His conscience reminded him. Another sigh. '_Good deeds aside, I'm getting tired of cold showers…_'

--

J.D. was not one to deny warmth even before he received his K-Zector. He'd never hesitate in proclaiming his love for high temperatures and would often agree that perhaps he did have cold-blood in his veins. Eitherway, his love for the sun and its pleasant rays was matched only by two things. A certain room in the apartments and the current resider of said room who had (secretly) invited him for a sleepover.

Groaning in pleasure both from the tropical temperature of the room along with several old kinks now long gone out of his spine, J.D. slowly opened his eyes and gasped in shock. With her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him and her button shirt wide-open was the very person who lived and cultivated this internal jungle.

Koalla Su.

For the first time since he had arrived here in this alternate Japan, far from America and without the aid of his fellow Patriots, J.D. truly and completely felt that he was gonna die. Oh no, Su wouldn't hurt him, not willingly anyway, but she did sometimes let her mouth runaway with her and J.D. knew that somehow, someway, Motoko would here of this.

"Mmmm… Jaydee smell nice… like 'nanas…" Koalla rubbed her face more into his neck, tickling him slightly and making him giggle at the sensation.

'_Meh, today might just be a good day to die…_'

--

"Shinobu…" Waka groused. '_Mustn't curse, mustn't curse, mustn't curse…_' "Didn't we talk about you making us all breakfast on your own already?"

The shy young girl, blushed and nodded, running a finger along the handle of her frying pan. "I just… I thought that you'd like to sleep in for a day, Sempai… I heard you complaining to Eiji-san of your troubles sleeping…"

'_Shit on a shingle…_' Waka internally winced. '_I didn't want her to hear that, damn it!_'

"Shinobu… chan… I appreciate that, really I do, but I made a promise didn't I? That I'd help you make breakfast and dinner so you'd have more time for your schoolwork and studies, right?" He smiled and again, Waka wondered what she saw in him that her acting like, like a schoolgirl with a crush.

He honestly didn't know and if he wasn't afraid of asking her, Waka would have but the girl would likely have died via embarrassment if he did. He sighed and patted her head and smiled. '_And that'd be a damn shame too…_'

--

Takuya wondered what deity he had managed to piss off and whether or not he could take said deity on and kick some ass for this horrible fate that had befallen him. Bad enough that he had to live without excessive use of his powers, which he pretty much ignored but still got in trouble whenever he was caught, but he was forced to live in what was once a hotel turned girl's dorm which turned into apartments with the damn girls still living there!

He could stand Shinobu, girl cooked like a master and like the saying went, 'a way to a man's heart is through his stomach'. That and, for whatever reason, she had a crush on his young protégé. Koalla was tolerable since she liked that gaijin brat J.D. and the bitch and sought them out more frequently whenever she was bored. Kitsune learned to leave him alone after their first introduction and he never bothered with her if he could help it. Mutsumi was alright, like Shinobu, but the gaijin bitch-brat, Sara, was a pain-in-the-ass if ever there was one! Takuya had no qualms with taking her over the knee and giving her what she deserved and with the blackmail material he had on her, curtesy of the klutz Keitaro and the Queen Bitch, she had nothing on him.

The Queen Bitch, if one couldn't immediately tell, was Naru Narusegawa who did not make a good first impression on Takuya, or the other Riders for that matter. Worse than Mitsune's in Takuya's opinion and considering Takuya's opinion on women that acted like Mitsune, that was really something. He did not appreciate being called a pervert and being punched in the face and Takuya retaliated in the way he liked best.

He knocked her out in one hit and ended up knocking out a tooth.

He still kept it as a trophy in his room.

Since then, there was a… strained relationship between the Riders and the girl that bordered on open aggression with her being the aggressor. Only Shiro never struck her back whenever she tried to hit them and accuse them of something they didn't do only because the Bitch, and all the other girls, agreed that Shiro, being a monk-in-training, would never do any of those things. Takuya honestly thought that Keitaro was some sort of masochist to actually have fallen in love with the psycho but that wasn't his problem so Takuya could care less.

Now the Bitch, oh she was another story entirely. Being a master of the sword, Takuya had been willing to give her a slight, like a hair's width, of doubt and offer her a hand of… not exactly friendship but non-hostility on his part but Motoko ruined it the moment she called him and his friends perverts as well. He'd take that from the hypocritic Queen Bitch but from her? Oh hell no. What made matters worse was, whenever they dueled, Takuya never once drew his sword and was still able to not only beat her, but incorporate her attacks to his family's style. Since then, he'd never find a moment to practice without Motoko being there and challenging him and pissing him off at the same time.

Somehow, he had ended up running into Motoko's sister, Tsuruko, and had escorted her back to Hinatasou. She kept looking to his family-sword but she hadn't asked or said a word about it or him and only asked him if he had a kinship with most birds since her own had, for whatever reason, gained a liking to him and was resting on his shoulder. He didn't want it there and Takuya had tried to shake it off but let it drop when the bird merely moved to his other shoulder and back again with every attempt.

So here he was now surrounded by the residents of Hinatasou, watching in no small amusement as Motoko was apparently having a freak-out with her sister's sudden appearance. He had frowned slightly upon hearing of the deal made between the sisters that Motoko would be the one to take over the family legacy and the school. He'd deny any feelings of attachment and would say that he'd miss the challenges and nothing more about it, but that would turn to be neither here nor there as Motoko frantically waved him over, calling him by his first name.

Confused, and somewhat concerned as she had never once called him by his first name, Takuya did so and nearly shot through the roof with shock when she wrapped her arms around his right arm in a way that he refused to like. Her eyes tightly clenched shut as she steeled herself for what she was about to do, Motoko yelled out the one idea she had to get herself out of this situation.

"Urm, e-excuse me, Oneesan, but… but he… he… He and I… are secretly engaged to be married!"

…

"WHAT?!"

To this day, no one could tell whose yell was the loudest though many could not deny that Takuya was in the top three.

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To Be Continued...

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**A/N Inspiration:** _I'm gonna give to y'all straight. I just wanted to play with the idea of Takuya, god of misogyny, would interact, or in most cases react, to being in a dorm filled with women. I figured, alone, he'd probably go on a rampage so I threw in a few of the other Riders and for those confused as to who, or what, J.D. is… Well, he's another Rider, this time from the Americas. You'll meet him soon enough._

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Next Reflection...

_"Demons Within"_


	3. Demons Within

Me: Guess who's back?

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**DISCLAIMERS: Don't own what's not my own.**

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**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_"Demons Within"_

"Is anyone there?!"

The sky was red by its blood or the blood of the planet, he couldn't tell. The stench of death was heavy in the air, overshadowed only by the acrid scent of brimstone. Buildings destroyed by the demonic forces leant heavily on supports too far gone to support their full weight and so many crumbled at the slightest movement within them, not that there was much movement to be found in this dead city. He had seen the statues, the frozen faces of people young and old screaming in sheer terror as the spirits of the dead and gone clawed upon them, dragging themselves upwards just as they were frozen to the bedrock like their living prey.

"Morisato…! Takuya…! Blackfire…! Please…someone, anyone… answer me!"

Nothing but the echoing cackles of the ravens were the response to Eiji's desperate cries. Screaming in frustration, he tore a piece of rubble and threw it into the flock that continued to follow him in this hell. Screeching angrily, the four-eyed horde of demonic ravens took to the sky, flying towards where once a glorious ocean was to be found now replaced by seas of molten rock and sulphourus smoke.

Beyond that sea of fire and death, past floating piece of rubble, sat the one true island in the bay where a large tower of glass and steel once stood in a glorious, if admittedly odd, T-shaped glory where two of Jump City's greatest group of heroes resided. Separately, they were rarely spoken as in the recent months they've begun to assume a common name between them.

The Teen Titans.

But that was no longer the case if he was the only one left save, perhaps, for the one responsible for this unimaginable level of destruction and death. Even the Crystal Incursion, for all its evils, took decades to degrade the earth to a point where billions of life forms were reduced to barely a handful, most coming from the same species at that. That earth had a chance in a trillion.

This one had lost any it had the instant He came here.

Demon, Devil, it didn't matter at all to Eiji Kusanagi as his eyes burned to match the red intensity of the creature's skin, glaring at His monstrous form across the sea of flames where He used a once proud and grand tower as His new throne. There was nothing left in this world for Eiji. He could run but really, run where? This was Hell on Earth, like there was anyplace safe from the Devil.

No.

Hell though this was, Eiji had been given something no mortal being had ever been able to truly have in this known universe. He might live and die on this day, perhaps even be forever burned in the deep pits of Hell given form on the middle plane but it was opportunity nonetheless. He may have been foolish to think this, he might have lost all sense of rationality in the conceiving of this plan but Eiji could honestly say he had no life left in him to continue in this existence. Damned he might become, he would not let this one chance go.

He stood before the sea of molten rock; fists clenched tight, claws drawing blood from soft, human palms, with orange colored eyes burning a shining red. He took several steps back, a bloodied hand drawing up to the K-Zector adorning his wrist and activating it with a scream, "Execute! Kaiju Spirit Evolution!" He ran forward even as the cocoon of light surrounded him and dove into the burning stone.

--

In a world once plagued with monsters, all of monstrous proportions and strength, there was not but one king but three, all of the same family but not directly related by blood. The first perished leaving not but bones and a forgotten soul, the second died so that the third might live only for it to have been sealed away not more than a century after the beginning of its reign. During those years, the souls of all three Kings never truly walked in the same plane of existence at the same moment. True, the Second came about thanks to the action of the Third and, in turn, rescued it but was lost in the ether soon after. There had been once, a King made from the body of the Third, the power of the Second, and the rage-driven soul of the First but, like all creatures of the paranormal circumstance, its life was brief though its message was heard loud and clear.

Never before had all three souls been united in a single form against a shared foe. No one could answer just Eiji had been thinking, activating the forbidden powers of the BioMerge in this ravaged world, not even the boy in question. Whatever the case was, the Kusanagi had done something no one, not even his father, had ever managed to accomplish. It was not unknown that, to use the strength of the Kings, one had merely to anger them enough against that which one saw fit to destroy but even in the madness of rage, all Three could find reason. Thus far, no being, human or otherwise, had ever truly given the Monster King a reason, a purpose.

Until now.

This fight was not a last-stand battle to the creature forever known as Godzilla. This was not a battle for territory, guarded or gained, nor was this a fight over dominance, which had the right to rule as King, as Alpha. This was something that went beyond instinct, beyond primal urges dating to the dawn of life.

Eiji Kusanagi had taken the pain, the grief, the complete and utter hatred that all three Gojirans shared in their lifetimes and gave to them a form bound by red-tinted flesh, with four hellish eyes that held an evil hatred born of the ether and not by a life filled with naught but pain. He took their pains and gave them a cause for it, he took their grief and gave it a shape, and he took their hatred and gave it a focus. More than that, Eiji gave to them but a single name.

TRIGON.

--

He who was perhaps second only to the Fallen Star sat in silent contemplation that stretched for eternity for those of mortal lifespans but was in fact an eye's blink for an immortal such as him. He raised a hand to the clouded skies, shining red despite the darkness shrouding his new made kingdom, and made a great tear into the sky, revealing the untouched stars of the universe lying unsuspecting of the danger they were in.

_"Go forth and conquer,"_ spoke the demon lord as his wraiths composed of the fires from his domain in Hell flew upwards. _"One by one, worlds shall fall until every being in this entire dimension bows down to worship Trigon the Terrible."_

Lightning arced in the sky as the portal towards the stars closed with the clenching of the devil's fists. He smiled in satisfaction only to suddenly scream more in rage than in pain from the stream of nuclear flame bursting forth from the sea of lava surrounding him. All four eyes narrowed in a rage, Trigon stood from his throne and stared with something akin to confusion at the creature that was making way towards him through the molten rock.

It was a creature rather like those long extinct in the millennia since their reign but different. This was no mere beast and Trigon, arrogant as he was from his place in the hierarchy of Hell, would forever be made the fool for believing this despite what his instincts were telling him of this beast, this monster making way towards him.

Eyes burning in their white intensity, Godzilla roared in shared fury with a trinity of voices, before launching forth another beam of power at the demon lord, knocking him back down onto his throne. Not slowing in the slightest, Godzilla continued its march forward, pressing Trigon further into what was once Titans' Tower until the structure collapsed from the pressure and the devil was slammed into the molten sea. Stepping up onto the island, nostrils flaring, Godzilla stood where once Trigon sat and roared its dominance over the demon lord, who rose slowly from the lava, burning in a demonic rage.

_"I have no recollection of such a creature as yourself, vermin… but rest assured your agony will be legendary, even in Hell!"_ Beams of demonic light shot forth from Trigon's eyes, slamming into Godzilla and pushing the monster king but a mere half step before the enraged beast charged forward, ignorant of all physical pain. The demon lord paused in his attack, stunned that such a mortal creature had power of mind and body to withstand against him. For but a moment he assumed this monstrosity was made of the same ether as himself.

No, this was a creature made of flesh and mortal blood like his fool of a daughter. The creature, whatever it was, resisted magic. Met the blackest of enchantments head-on with its own power, fierce as the sea in the midst of a hurricane. Not a demon, but Trigon could see the raw fury in those nightmarish eyes, the kind of rage that guaranteed one of them wouldn't be walking away from this fight.

_"So be it."_

Demonic hellfire met mundane nuclear flame, colliding in an explosion of smoke and ether in midair and sending both combatants nearly off their feet. Snarling fangs gleamed before shooting fast through the open space and bit down upon crimson flesh. Spines of silver hue began to crackle with shining radioactive light, the same energies that burned deep in Godzilla's throat and now burned onto Trigon's flesh.

The demon lord howled and, with a mighty burst of pain driven strength, hurled the monster across the bay to land on the ruined shore. The beast pressed its upper body up with muscular arms, growling deeply. It stood slowly to its feet, licking the blood from its fangs, as its final enemy came charging upon it. Blue fire burst forth from Godzilla's mouth, turning demon blood into steam, and colliding against Trigon's torso, nearly pushing the demon lord off his feet but, like his adversary, the red-skinned devil tried to push back against the assault.

Unlike Godzilla, Trigon's rage did not have a cause and so it was of little surprise when the monster's fire began to burn the demon lord's skin. Screaming in a blind rage, Trigon ducked under the nuclear fire and attempted to pile drive into Godzilla's torso only to receive a strike from the creature's tail that nearly tore off his head. Trigon stood slowly, rubbing his mouth with the back of one hand and spitting out a glob of blood with the remains of a tusk.

The two beings, both kings in their own rights and commanding powers beyond mortal conception or control stood facing one another on fields they unwittingly represented. Behind the demon Trigon stood a sea of molten rock lit aflame from the fires of Hell a true testament to its infernal horrors. Behind the monster king Godzilla stood what remained of a once glorious city now nothing but ruins where nothing truly alive could hope to exist past this day of Armageddon. Both of them were forces of terrible power and destruction but both were of opposite end of the spectrum. Yes one was made of the ether and another of flesh and blood but only one of them stood for something more than senseless destruction.

That one stood for something that the demon lord Trigon could never in all his existence truly begin to understand for while most demons could learn of it and even embrace the knowledge, a being such as Trigon would rather give his life than to be made aware of its existence. Even in the depths of his madness, drowning beneath the minds of all three Kings, Eiji Kusanagi still fought with everything he had because he stood for that something.

For the family he found and lost, for the lives of his friends new and old, and for the love that he shared… Eiji Kusanagi would guarantee that Trigon would pay for every crime, every death, and every ounce of agony the demonlord inflicted on this earth.

In spades.

However, between the two monolithic figures' silence, there came a voice, nay a multitude of voices that spoke not as one but as a unity shared between friends, between family. These words, so simple and plain sounding to most who heard them, would merely be brushed aside but to someone drowning in a sea of rage and despair, it was the life raft that would bring them home.

"Titans GO!"

* * *

To Be Continued...

* * *

**A/N Inspiration:** _An age ago, don't truly recall when, I read of a rejected story idea of Godzilla combating against the Devil. Obviously, it never flied but the idea was rather interesting in its own right. Actually, it was a friend of mine, whom I like to call Chrome, who inspired the idea as, originally, I was going to have the Riders appear in the Teen Titans (animated) world like the reflection "M-Base" but I didn't know what point in the series to admit them. Chrome suggested Trigon as a good point and I remembered the rejected "Godzilla vs. the Devil" and viola! "Demons Within"._

* * *

Next Reflection...

_"No Need for Romancing!"_


	4. No Need for Romancing!

Me: For my heart, my soul, my special lady whose given me more than I have deserved. For you my Camille, a Valentine's Day two-piece special

* * *

**DISCLAIMERS: Don't own what's not my own.**

* * *

**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_"No Need for Romancing!"_

The pair of them pulled up riding astride their motorcycles, the engines roaring like tigers amidst the streets. The roars turned to pleasant purrs before they quieted completely, the heated engines of the bikes cooling in the foggy morning air. They dismounted in near perfect sync, placing their helmets down between the bars of their respected motorbikes before moving up towards the one of the apartments. The taller of the duo knocked gently on the door and waited patiently until an aquamarine-haired woman opened it, still dressed in her sleeping clothes and looking very tired.

"Who… yawn… is it…?" She blinked sleepily, her teal-colored orbs focusing on the taller of the two. "Eiji?"

The Kusanagi nodded, smiling in sympathy of his girlfriend's plight. "Long night, Kiyone?"

She nodded, allowing the two into her shared apartment. Morisato glanced at her for a moment before looking towards Eiji, quirking an eyebrow and grinning a knowing smile. Eiji shot him a withering glare, ignoring the blush on his face. Chuckling to himself, Morisato headed towards the bedroom. "I'll go and wake, Miho-chan…"

Kiyone watched him go, shaking her head in wonder. She'd never understand what Morisato, of all people, saw in her partner but really, she was happy for her. Suddenly aware of the other person still left in the room, Kiyone turned and saw Eiji staring at her like… She smiled as she felt a shiver go up her spine. Eiji was by no means her first boyfriend but he was definitely the first to make her feel like this with just a glance.

She padded over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pursed her lips just enough for Eiji to understand what she wanted. Smiling with a teasing flair, Eiji leaned down and pressed his lips lightly against her own before resting his forehead against hers and whispered, "You look so adorable, you know that?"

"Eh…?" Kiyone blinked and glanced down and flushed all the way to the roots of her long hair. The only way she'd have shown more skin would have been if she was wearing a two-piece bikini. Having mercy, Eiji took off his coat and drapped it over her shoulders, hugging her from behind and whispering softly into her ear.

"So shy around me still, Kiyo-chan?" He lightly nipped at her ear. "Forgotten your promotion party so soon?"

Kiyone was many things; a police officer of the finest caliber, stubborn as a bull when it came to her beliefs, kind as can be when it comes to her friends, but as Eiji was frequent in proving, Kiyone was first and above all else, a woman and while she wasn't going to tell her boyfriend to stop with his teasings she did not have to let them go unanswered.

Turning and pressing her lips upon his, she proceeded to do just that.

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Morisato was kneeling down beside her, looking at her sleeping form with a strangely serious expression on his face. Once upon a time, he would not have had such feelings for a girl but as the saying goes, time changes everything for nothing can remain the same. It had taken the deaths of not one but three of his friends for Morisato to realize what he had been doing to himself and to others. Espiga, dear, sweet girl that she was, loved him despite his faults and what did he do? Needlessly show off at every opportunity and push her aside whenever there was a moment's peace. Kiri, the tempermental tomboy loved Espiga, more than he ever did, and she died bringing her body, untouched by the Crystals, back to them.

Takuya…

Damn it, the overgrown jerk had the worst hands in his cardgame with Fate. He had lost everything there was to lose in the war against the Crystals and the one chance he had to start over, to move beyond the past and into the future… Morisato was no swordsman, not as he was, but he swore on his life's blood that he would honor the sword left behind from the last of the Yashima clan. On his scar he swore to never play with another girl's heart. On the ring resting hidden in his pocket, he swore to forever cherish the wonderful girl that had literally dropped into his life. The others really didn't understand what he saw in Mihoshi. Heck, even her partner-in-crime-provention didn't see what he saw in her. It didn't matter really as he liked what he saw just as much he saw what he liked and he really liked Mihoshi.

No, not plainly liked, not anymore.

He loved her.

Though that wouldn't stop him from lecturing her on properly asking for permission on certain things; he'd been wondering where that shirt had gone off to for weeks!

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He couldn't understand or, perhaps, he didn't want to. A fragmented past filled with naught but pain and misery along with the constant company of a berserker in his mind, he took whatever happiness he could at every available moment. Had you asked him in the beginning of his new residency, Hudson would have easily counted the number of times he had ever been happy despite his lack of serious education. She was no mathematical genius herself but she had knowledge, and patience, enough to teach him in a more proper fashion than the eldest of the girls.

She was the first to really treat him like a person and he loved her for that, more than anything. Given the chance, he'd sacrifice everything he was and had just to get a smile on her face, to give her a portion of the same happiness she gave him.

So here he was as eager to please as ever, helping her pack the lunches she and her sister made, being extra careful with hers and being sure to mark which basket specifically held her sister's… creation… Fool him once, shame on her, fool Hudson again then there'd be hell to pay. Immunity to all things nonwithstanding, Hudson preferred to actually be able to taste his food the next day.

"Miyah!" A familiar weight settled itself on his head and a pair of jeweled eyes looked down over his own, earning a smile from Hudson.

"Hello, Ryo-Ohki." The cabbit was as enamored with him as she was with Sasami, both having the little spaceship/lifeform hatch in their hands. "It has your carrots, do not concern."

"You mean, 'I have your carrots, don't worry', Hud-kun." Sasami corrected him, smiling at the cute image the two made.

Hudson's face flushed and he took the heavier of the baskets. "Shall we go?"

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The sound always seemed to echo here though here was a strenuous term at best as this place was neither here nor there. Washu hadn't gotten far in explaining that to him but Shiisa was nothing if not a studious man and he'd learn all her secrets someday. Like the crab her hair was styled after, he had to give Washu time to come out of her shell. Though that didn't mean that he had not a reason to try.

Moving like a shadow through the expanse of her lab, he made sure to avoid any and all means of detection from the various devices she had set up in her lab first to prevent Mihoshi from bumbling into it and then, later on, to catch him. It had become something of a game between the two of them, one that Shiisa frequently delighted in playing with the, admittedly, older woman. At first, he had been concerned of his feelings for her, feeling that he was entering dangerous and forbidden territory but when he was informed of how old she truly was he immediately saw the reverse.

It also helped that her true age-form was "Smoking hot!" as the case was.

He rested on his haunches, just behind her as she sat on her little hover-cushion, typing away at her holo-computer. He remembered he still had to devise a way to thank her for making one of his own but pushed the thought aside for the mission at hand. He stood slowly, carefully, until he was towering over her from behind and still he remained unnoticed. Quick like a flash, he grabbed her around the waist and ran like hell, with Washu screaming first from pure surprise to a rage similar to what her daughter expressed daily with her 'rival'.

Several college degrees or not, Shiisa didn't know half of what she was insinuating but knew that most of them had to be painful. "You know you love me, Washu-chan," he grinned at her reply. Oh yes, like daughter like mother. "Remember our deal? You're only allowed to skip one meal and as you've missed breakfast it is my duty to take you out to lunch."

"I'm not hungry, you fuzz-brained ignoramous! I've got very important projects to finish and I don't appreciate—" A low growl halted her in mid-tirade and brought an amused smile to his face and a red flush to her own.

"I believe that you've been outvoted, sweetheart."

Washu crossed her arms and looked positively aloof, or tried to as the blush remained on her face still. "Shut up and carry me, lunkhead."

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Midoriko sighed and wondered not for the first time how she'd constantly end up as the one to invite Yosho to these affairs with the 'children' of the house. Truth be told, she didn't honestly know though she had a heavy suspicion towards Shiisa. The man had gotten downright devious since Washu arrived at the house and revised it to accomadate for the, admittedly, large number of people now living on the Masaki ground.

She didn't miss how poetically ironic that all save for the Masaki's and the officers were all technically homeless here on this world.

As she traveled up the steps to the temple, Midoriko allowed herself to lose herself in her thoughts. Their new lives in this suddenly small world wasn't a peaceful one by any means and it was one marked by the loss of those that were as good as family to them but, surprisingly, Midoriko found that she wouldn't change much save for things beyond the control of any mortal being.

Her 'children' were dead, let their spirits rest.

Looking back at those who remained, she had to admit that she was… surprised, by how well the boys had adjusted to this new lifestyle randomly spreckled with conflict. She couldn't blame them really as she too latched onto the tranquility as fast as she could though she did not go out of her way to find a lover like them.

"Yosho." She greeted upon reaching the final step to the temple and finding the man sweeping the grounds. "The picnic shall be starting soon and your sisters are eager for your company. Pray, come and join us?"

She didn't miss the knee-jerk reaction the word 'sisters' got from Yosho and though she wasn't anything like Shiisa, Midoriko did have a dash of mischeviousness to call her own. She knew as much of the story as Ayeka and Sasami were willing, or in the younger's case able, to tell as Yosho was not as forthcoming with his side of the story and until he spoke of such, she'd keep her opinion of him. Oh, she could understand him not wanting to marry her but to avoid doing so in such a callous way was quite unforgiveable to the matriarch.

"Ah, they have, have they?" He smiled, placing the broom to lean against the porch. "Let us go then."

Midoriko nodded and turned her back on the man and started down the steps, waiting until she heard him stepping behind her to say, "Mind, keep that hologram of yours up otherwise you'll have Ayeka and every other bishonen-fanatic lusting after you."

The sound of chin meeting stone steps was truly a gratifying sound.

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"Princess Ayeka? Are you ready?"

"Just a moment, Lord Shiro."

The emerald-haired youth sighed, glaring balefully at the door. "Please, milady, Shiro is more than enough."

The door slid opened, revealing Ayeka of Jurai dressed as ceremonious as always though with actual Japanese clothes than those from her home planet. "And as I've said to you, Lord Shiro, Ayeka suits me just as well."

Shiro stared. He couldn't help it. Yes, her silks and robes did have a touch of asian in them but that wasn't here nor there to the boy. Dressed as she was before, Ayeka had all the beauty of a princess, but now… she was truly a gorgeous young woman. Swallowing slightly and turning to hide his sudden blush, Shiro said, "You are of a higher station than I, Princess. It wouldn't be proper of me to speak to you in such a manner."

Ayeka's smile was almost evil as she noted the reaction she got from the boy. Blushing lightly, she took the arm she knew he despised and gently tugged him forward. "Then I'm afraid I have to follow the same conduct, Lord Shiro. Now, please, let us go and enjoy a peaceful luncheon."

He flinched, making as though to pull his arm away but he steeled himself and slowly moved along beside her, not seeing her triumphant smile. Yes, her father would try his best to get her to marry Tenchi and, once upon a time, she would gladly have done so if only because Tenchi was the grandson of her half-brother Yosho but learning the ways of the Riders and the lifestyles that Shiro and his comrades fought, bled, and died to try and protect opened the princess' eyes to the real world.

She didn't have to let someone narrate the happy ending to her fairy tale, nor did she have to let it run its course on its own. If she so wanted, she could grasp her dreams and make them a reality herself.

And commoner or not, Shiro Saito was definitely her Prince.

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Lunch was as loud and boisterous as always and as chaotic as a feeding frenzies tended to be but, somehow, there was an air filled with laughter and peace amongst the group, despite the occasional breakout of fighting for the last piece of a certain food item, often between two certain females. Eiji and Kiyone were discussing the jurisdictions of the Galaxy Police, Morisato was teaching Mihoshi how to use her little cubic device without damaging it or her cruiser, Shiro was busy acting as peacekeeper between Ryoko and Ayeka with Tenchi acting as his second, Hudson was playing a game of cat's cradle with Sasami with Ryo-Ohki bouncing between their hands, Shiisa kept adding more food to Washu's plate when she wasn't looking, and Midoriko held a stiff conversation with Yosho. Truly it was a rather peaceful day.

So of course, Murphy's Law had to proclaim itself anew once again.

The food was incinerated as something large and shining brightly from atmosphere burn shot between them, toppling them all to the ground. Those with advanced senses groused at letting themselves get distracted as they and the others rose to their feet to look up at a disbelieving sight.

"Heh. I've been looking for you. You did Kagato in didn't you?" A gloved finger pointed towards a stunned Tenchi. "So—you are the one!"

Hovering in the air above them was none other than a near exact duplicate of Ryoko. The only true difference between the two that anyone could see were the small pale blue marks on her cheeks and how she seemed younger in appearance compared to the infamous space pirate.

"Cool it, beautiful! Who—or what—are you?!" Ryoko teleported up to the carbon copy of herself, glaring at her near mirror image. "Well?! You ruined my fabulous fish fry!"

"… You are obstructing me."

"What?!" Without further ado, the Ryoko-clone slammed the original down onto the forest ground, plowing into several trees without so much as batting an eye.

Concerned, the children, Sasami and Hudson, ran after Ryoko with Mihoshi following after them and Morisato following after her. Tenchi stared in the direction where the trail of destruction led to Ryoko's prone form before turning angered eyes up at the one responsible for the attack.

"You can't just attack anyone you want!"

"I am not programmed to discuss such matters…" The mirror-image held up her hand, conjuring a sword of laser energy. "NOW! Time to fight!"

"You got that right," growled Eiji, clutching the device on his wrist, "Execute! Kaiju Spirit Evolution!"

"WAKE-UP!"

* * *

To Be Continued...

* * *

**A/N Inspiration:**

_Okay, I'll admit it. I'm a shipper and while I'd prefer the main character to get together with the girl that I like the most, that often never happens CoughLoveHinaCough! So this is what I'd thought would happen if the Riders ended up in the Tenchi Muyo-verse. The Original/Manga based Tenchi-verse since there's what, five of them now? Plus, who wouldn't want to see Gojira go at it with Ryoko just for the hell of it?_

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Next Reflection...

_"__A Slice of Life With A Dash of Allure__"_


	5. Panzer

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**DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.  
**

* * *

**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_Panzer_

Crimson eyes flashed in the twilight, fangs longer than a man's arm glistening in the fading light of the falling sun. A sinuous tail twisting to and fro as muscular legs tensed, waiting for just the right moment… to… strike! Nuclear energy burst forth from fang-lined jaws, cleaving through the sky and charging into the swarm of airships, destroying several hundred in a long line of burning destruction. A beastial roar screamed out in victory before the monolithic monster stepped slowly forward, cautious of trickery and deceit. It was right to be cautious as a swarm of creatures, avian in nature but rich with the stink of humanity, shot down towards it, sickly green light pulsing from spiked necks and escaping through eyeless skulls with burning energy.

The pain was small, a mere bee's sting to its thick hide. Its glimmering eyes narrowed in annoyance. These small creatures were not worth the waste in its energy, plentiful though it was in the twisted landscapes of this strange, new world. A swipe of tail and claw, and it was rid of them and free once more to continue on its search for her.

A sudden change in the winds brought it to a sudden halt, nostrils flaring, taking in the scents both big and small. The strange scents of the prey were strangely exotic to its nose and the stink of machines and oil were a familiar memory playing across its mind but there were two distinct scents in the southern-bound wind that brought forth its attentions. One smelled of wind and sunny fields of long grass, change and freedom. The other, the more important of the two, smelled of lilacs and freshly carved marble. It could almost envision the silken flesh and glistening white hair of the one who created this scent. It snorted a cloud of blueish smoke, looking back at the metallic swarm now in quick retreat from its wrath before looking once more towards the north where the winds carried her scent.

It followed.

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It had taken most of the night and the day before it had at last entered the frozen lands of snow and gleaming mountains of ice. A heated breath blasted out from flared nostrils, burning eyes narrowed against the cold blowing winds of the desolate landscape. Too many mountains to risk calling for the lost ones and the winds too erractic to track down the scents. It would have to search for them on foot if it had any hope of finding them.

Another blast of cold wind mixed with shards of ice brought back the familiar hatred of the snow and the cold. Yet it continued to strive forward, dorsal spines lighting with inner fire, heat blasting snow and ice into warm clouds of steam as it trekked for the better part of the day searching for the lost ones. More of the bizarre prey of this world flocked far from it, their eyes going blind from the heat of its fires.

Night had fallen, the ancient sun falling into the white horizon and blanketing the frozen world in darkness and with the growing dim, so too did its concern grow. The flyer would, naturally, be alright despite its natural hatred of the cold for, like it, the flyer breathed forth burning light and so could keep itself awake even in this frozen landscape. The girl though, she who smelled of lilacs and marble stone, had no protection save for what it and the flyer gave her and though she was undoubtedly with the flyer, it was concerned nonetheless.

To have been blown so far as this, it marveled at the flyer's resiliency before a roar shattered the tranquility of the night. It stopped, muscles clenching, ready to strike at the opportune moment but it never came. Confused, it listened and again heard the terrible sound, farther away yet still filled with territorial rage. It looked to the east, where the sun would soon rise and where the cries came from.

It climbed the hill and stood at its crest, eyes looking down at the vast gorge, large enough to even make it pause in concern for dropping into that dark abyss, before it spotted the faint trail of stone that stretched between the mountains where a creature of ice and snow flew on the wings born from the currents of the sea. It soared tightly around the stone bridge, attacking they whom it had been searching for.

In any other situation, it would glady have attacked the ice-flyer without hesitation but the winds granted mercy to the denizen of the bottomless gorge. It could smell the younglings, hiding in the cold stone as their mother fought to destroy that which she knew could kill her and her young.

Tilting back its head, Godzilla roared, burning flames of nuclear energy firing into the sky. The ice-flyer's attention drawn from the girl and flyer, the monster king walked slowly along the cliff, its burning eyes never leaving the ice-flyer as it soared high above, preparing to dive down when she saw just where Godzilla was heading. She screamed in maternal rage as the monster king stood above the cave where her younglings were hiding, quivering in fear of the behemoth's presence and the heat its burning spines generated.

She hovered back as far as she dared, scared to attack from a distance lest she do more harm than good for her younglings but near enough to slam the intruder into the abyss along with herself if she had to. Godzilla remained where it was, looking back towards the bridge and watched as the flyer's injuries fully healed at last, taking off into the air, moving slowly lest it draw the ice-flyer's attention and wrath upon it and its charge.

The ice-flyer remained hovering as the flyer landed gently in Godzilla's outstretched claws. The Monster King gazed down upon them with a pleased rumble, almost a purr. Slowly, it backed away, keeping its two charges close in case the ice-flyer sought retribution but though she followed them, she did not attack. The message between her and Godzilla was clear.

_"You have your charges and I have mine. Hurt them and I hurt yours."_

She made sure to watch them until they were well out of her territory but otherwise left them alone to their journey. Pleased that innocent younglings were spared the loss of a mother, Godzilla looked down to see the flyer asleep and resting, and the girl not far from falling asleep herself. Her hands reached up to it and, upon raising its hands higher, allowed her to gently stroke the leathery hide along its jaw. Deep inside its mind, a part of a different mind felt at ease. Though Orta was by no means his family by blood or otherwise, she was truly all that he had left in this world and, perhaps, Eiji Kusanagi's only true chance of remembering his humanity. It breathed upon them a cloud of warm air and she laughed, tickled by its strange breath. It snorted, looking up towards the rising sun and followed the eastward horizon.

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_To Be Continued...

* * *

_

**A/N Inspiration:**

_Panzer Dragoon has been one of my favorite video games since video games have been created. Though the series is rare and hard to find, the story and ideas of a futuristic world inhabited by beasts created from biological warfare virtually parallels the Riders' former world. That and I've often considered the "dragoon" a sort of relative to Godzilla as both use killer beam-breath weapons that are too damn cool to ignore._

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Next Reflection...

_"Daikaju Days__"_


	6. Daikaiju Days

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**DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN. CHROME OWNS WHAT IS HIS OWN. USED WITH PERMISSION  
**

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**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_Daikaiju Days_

_Two weeks prior to the events of School Days of the ChronoLiner Riders_

"We have a few new students joining us today class. All though they are rather late into starting the semester please be sure to make them feel welcomed alright?" The teacher turned and looked out into the hallway from inside Class 1-4. "Come in, we don't bite." In walked three boys, all rather strange looking in their own fashion.

The first of them was of bit above average height and wore his jacket open to show a muscular build like that of a martial artist. He had black hair with a stripe of silver that fell past his eyes and was cut in a rather odd way. The black portion of his hair fell past his chin and was smooth and soft in appearance while the hair of the silver stripe, that started at his forehead and ended at the back of his neck, was sharp and pointed like spikes. His eyes were also a startling orange color.

The second student was a head shorter than the first. He had a build found more on American-style football players; less height for more width. He had light brown hair with streaks of blonde along the edges, which was cut quite short along the sides but kept long and sharp along the top. His eyes were a remarkable shade of amber and he had an easy-going smile on his face, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the class. For while both eyes were fine in appearance, his left eye had a long jagged scar that started at the top of his eyebrow and ended just above his jaw.

The third student was a few inches taller than the first, taller than most boys his age should rightfully be, and had replaced his uniform jacket with a crimson trench coat and had used the tie to form a crude bandanna. He had dull brown hair tied back into a ponytail that fell past his shoulders and his eyes were a bright blue. He had fighter's bandages wrapped tightly around his hands, just like the other two did, and seemed quite displeased with something.

"Why don't you three introduce yourselves to the class and, while you're at it, tell us a bit about yourselves." The teacher suggested. The three exchanged looks before the boy with black and silver hair stepped forward.

"My name is Eiji Kusanagi. I like to fight in the martial arts." He cracked his knuckles for emphasis, earning many winces from the class. "And I don't lose."

"Willingly." The taller boy said, earning a sharp glare from Eiji which was ignored. "I am Takuya Yashima and I like racing, particularly motor-cross, and being left alone. You'd do best to remember that."

"Ignore him," said the smaller boy. "His bark is worse than his bite." He bowed his head the slightest bit and said, "My name is Morisato Akichi and I like to tinker with machines. I'm also the cute one out of my friends here."

"Annoying is not cute." Takuya muttered under his breath. He glared out into the confines of the class, his eyes narrowing upon the pale-haired Otome. His inane, as some would call it, dislike towards the opposite gender left no such thing as distinction. He hatred all women equally, the only change being whether that hatred would grow or stagnate into annoyance. However, though in this strange world where his and his family's… gifts… had ebbed and returned like the ocean tide without warning, Takuya felt that he would soon learn to despise that girl. Most would feel curious as to why they would feel such a thing but most did not think or feel like Takuya. For the last Yashima, there was no curiosity, only eager anticipation.

Morisato grinned despite his old friend's jibe. He had grown used to Takuya's harsh tongue long before… her. All that change was Takuya's attitude towards women, something not even Sensei could fix. Glancing around the class, Morisato repressed the urge to wince at the poorly hidden curiosity in the eyes of his new classmates. The scar that he refused to erase over his eye. The promise he made to his aniki, Eiji, and… to the one whom he betrayed… if not for aniki, he would have been no better than the one who broke Takuya's heart. He owed his life to Eiji but he owed his soul to her. He had to keep it. If nothing else, the scar was all he had left of her beside the memories.

Eiji ignored them all, his eyes seemingly closed to the world, but that was far from the truth. Beneath those closed lids, his eyes were shining with crimson light as he felt the surface emotions of those around him, both in and outside the classroom. Normal for the most part but… he frowned slightly. What on earth is that? He wondered. Dark, twisted, and reeking of something foul… what kind of soul could be so defiled? So… wrong? His eyes snapped open, devoid of their shining light. Something that wasn't…

'_Human…_'

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It was nearly three weeks later, shortly after another group of new students joined "the soap opera of hell" as Takuya referred to the academy, that the Yashima had started what he would later call "One serious fucked up day." It had begun during his run to school when one of those new transfer students from America, Ryan if Takuya called correctly, had run into him full force, knocking their school things onto the ground. After a brief yelling match between them, Ryan had gone on ahead, leaving behind what Takuya had assumed was an ordinary DVD box-set, one that he would not return without a price to the boy had he not seen what laid on the box's cover.

"The hell… Katsura?" Takuya's eyes narrowed. "School Days…" He looked to where Ryan had already disappeared into the school. He knew by way of their "teachers" that there was something different about them. They weren't human, according to Sensei and were a few were powerful in the magic arts according to Midoriko. Carefully glancing about, listening to the wind's gentle caress, Takuya slipped the DVD into his coat. '_This bears looking into._' He blinked, suddenly scowling and frightening several passing students. '_The hell did I just say? Damn it, I've been hanging around the runt too damn much!_'

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It was late, nearly past midnight, but none of them were tired or feeling anything close to it. They all had spent some six hours watching the anime called "School Days" and though they were entertained on some points, the building climax and the final conclusion left them feeling far from it.

"My god… how can anyone be so callous with a person's feelings?" whispered Midoriko, tears falling down her eyes.

"It is as your father once said, Eiji-kun. The real monsters wear a human face…" spoke Shiisa, unnaturally serious, his gemlike eyes hard and glaring at the black screen of the television.

"I am going to kill them both." Takuya growled, his fists clutched tight enough to draw blood. "I'll slaughter them and make sure they suffer for what they've done to Katsura!"

"Can we even do that?" argued Morisato. "This is real life we're talking about here, not some fictional anime!"

"Real or not, we've got to do something god damn it!" yelled Takuya.

"No." Eiji calmly said, "We stay out of this." He looked at his family in turn. "There is more to Ryuji and his friends then we assumed. I don't know how, nor do I care to, but they are a lot like us."

Shiisa raised an eyebrow. "By us, I assume you speak of them being Kamen Riders?"

The three younger Riders turned sharply to the older man. "You knew?"

Midoriko nodded. "The first day they arrived, I Scanned them. Though they are suffering from the same power drain we first felt upon arrival here, they are what they are."

"So… what does that mean for us?" asked Morisato. "Do we confront them? Join them?"

"Help them kill those two bastards?" asked Takuya, almost pleading.

Eiji thought in silence for a long moment. "No to all three. I felt their emotions and though a few are a bit… odd… their intentions are good. I know for a fact that Hasuma punk cares for Katsura more than that bastard of a boyfriend. For now, we step back and let them be the puppet masters in this act."

"But…?" supplied Morisato.

Eiji's eyes hardened, remembering the empty void in Kotonoha's eyes. No one should ever have eyes like those, especially not an innocent soul. "If they should fail, we step in and pick up the pieces."

Takuya snorted. "You've gone soft, Kusanagi. Fine. I'll play… nice… but I reserve the right to mercilessly harass Pinky McPink."

Eiji sighed tiredly. "I'd rather you give Makoto and Taisuke hell but—"

"Deal." Takuya suddenly blinked and scowled. "Aw damn, I walked right into that didn't I?"

"Hook. Line. And sinker."

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"Ready guys?" Eiji looked to Morisato and Takuya. Morisato was playing a few practice rifts on his drums while Takuya was finishing with fine-tuning his electric guitar.

"I can't believe we have to share the damn stage with _them_," growled Takuya.

"At least we're the opening act, Tak-kun." Morisato reasoned.

Eiji rolled his eyes. It had been hard keeping a low profile in the events with the school festival but they had managed it pretty well. Up until Sensei up and signed them up to participate in as one of the bands to perform for the school. Eiji was pretty sure this was the old man's revenge for stealing the last Klondike bar but what else could they really do? "Just live with it, Takuya."

The lights came on and the curtain was drawn up as Eiji began to play the opening rifts to the song, "Through the Fires and the Flames".

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"Sawanaga-san, let me go," Kotonoha attempted to struggle from Taisuke's hold on her. "Please, you're hurting me." He had her against the wall. She'd bumped into him and was helping him tidy up the leftovers of the school festival when he suddenly confessed to her.

"Katsura-san, I love you," he said as he pinned her against the wall by her wrists. She was scared. The look in his eyes told her he wasn't going to take no for an answer until he got what he wanted and what he wanted was her. He leaned forward to kiss her when he was suddenly sent sailing by a powerful, almost inhuman, punch to the face that had him skidding across the floor.

Before he could find out who, or what, had hit him, Ryuji Hasuma was immediately upon him. Pulling the tall boy up by his tie, Ryuji proceeded to bash in Taisuke's face in with his fist. He had managed to land quite a good number hits on Taisuke when his wrist was grabbed in a vice-like grip. Breathing hard and looking rather wild, Ryuji turned ice-like eyes upon the fires that were Eiji's own.

"Enough. Anymore and you will kill him. Take care of your girl first and worry about this scum later."

Slowly, the Hasuma twin began to calm down. He let go of Taisuke and Eiji released his grip on Ryuji's wrist. The ebon-haired youth spat in disgust at Taisuke. "You're lucky. You owe him your life. If they weren't here, I would've killed you," he said in a low and dangerous tone.

Ryuji turned to Kotonoha and saw that her jacket had been pulled open and her bow was lying on the floor. He gently picked it up and walked towards her. He carefully fixed the bow around her neck and fixed up her jacket. She was still in shock so he did what he needed to do; he hugged her. Her arms slowly went up and around Ryuji's back, her face pressed firmly into the crook of his neck.

Ryuji pulled away from Kotonoha and said, "Let's go."

"Go where?" she asked.

"To the bonfire."

Shocked, she started to answer, "But, Makoto-kun and Saionji-san—" she paused.

Ryuji cupped her chin and tilted her face up to look deeply into her eyes. "Forget about them and let's have fun, okay?"

Kotonoha relaxed and nodded. "Hai."

They walked away, hand in hand.

Eiji shook his head in bemusement, his eyes gaining a faint reddish tint. Though he was not one to believe in such things as soul-mates, if ever he had to use an example those two would certainly come to mind… His eyes fell down to Taisuke, who was tittering on the edge of consciousness. "You know, I honestly was going to allow Yashima to do what he wanted with you, provided he didn't get in their way and left you alive in the end." He pulled the boy up by his tie, pulling it tight enough to slowly cut off his air. Crimson light exploded within Eiji's eyes as he growled. "You should be grateful. Takuya would make you wish he had killed you. Me? I'm going to make you wish you were never born."

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_Excerpt from School Days of the ChronoLiner Riders_

"Well, well, well," sneered a familiar voice. "What do we have here?

Alarmed, Ryuji pulled Kotonoha behind him as Naoko walked towards them. Kotonoha was wondering what was wrong since she'd seen Naoko in the student committee room a few times. She never saw the girl as dangerous and Ryuji was acting like she was some sort of monster.

"Katherine…" growled Ryuji.

'_Katherine?_' Kotonoha thought. '_Why did he call Katahara-san Katherine?_'

"What do you want?" demanded Ryuji.

"As if a Nobody like you would understand, but I'm sick and tired of all this interference." She snarled. "So, I decided to fix it."

Ryuji smirked. "Fix it? How? You got no power."

Katherine grinned evilly as her Horror Belt form, surprising Kotonoha and Ryuji.

"How?" questioned Ryuji.

Katherine put on her ring and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" She swiped her right hand over the buckle. "Henshin."

"**HORROR FORM!**"

Like before her armor formed and then the additional armor pieces appeared. Apparently, she'd been carrying Grimm inside of her so that this was possible.

Ryuji tensed up. He didn't have power but luckily he had his wrist communicator. He reached over to it and turned on the SOS.

"_Go ahead and_ _call your friends, it won't matter_," snorted Sauron as she started to configure her HorrorGasher into Sword Mode. "_You'll be dead. The girl, however, I have other plans_."

"You want to end this story the way you want it," Ryuji concluded.

"_The way it should be, with people dead_," Sauron sneered. "_I already took care of Sekai and she's probably on her way to Makoto's._"

"You did what?"

"_I hypnotized her, just like how I will hypnotize Kotonoha. A sweet girl like her should get her revenge, shouldn't she?_"

Kotonoha wondered what they were talking about. Ryuji's wrist communicator had been on the entire time, broadcasting Sauron's words to the rest.

"We'll stop you," he swore.

"_You?_" she scoffed. "_You wish! You don't have powers here, but to make sure I sent some of my minions to take care of your friends while I deal with you myself._" She swiped her hand over her buckle again.

"**FULL CHARGE!**"

"_DIE!!_" roared Sauron as the blade detached from the HorrorGasher and she swung it at them. The blade came flying at them and Ryuji grabbed Kotonoha.

"GET DOWN!" shouted Ryuji as he pushed the girl and himself to the ground. The blade, however, managed to slash him in the back and he let out a scream.

"RYUJI-KUN!" Kotonoha screamed as she saw him bleeding from the hit. Ryuji gave her a reassuring look as Sauron walked over to them. Ryuji stood up and gripped his fists. They glowed with blue fire. His powers had returned.

"Kotonoha, please, whatever you see here…please don't be afraid…" he said without facing her. She wondered what he meant when he let out a roar. Suddenly, his body was engulfed in blue flames and when the flames dispersed, in Ryuji's place was the Ifrit Orphenoch. She gasped in shock as she saw the Orphenoch but she wasn't afraid of this being that stood in front of her. It was still Ryuji, but in his true form. He was the boy she loved no matter what shape or form.

Ifrit crouched down and growled at Sauron. She rolled her eyes. "_So, you decided to show your true self. How quaint._"

Ifrit let out a growl and then lunged at Sauron. He struck fast with his claws and soon the battle began. Kotonoha could only see a flurry of movements as sparks flew from claw and blade making contact. The Ifrit Orphenoch performed an upward swing and slashed Sauron in the chestplate but Sauron countered by kicking the Orphenoch hard in the face. The Orphenoch staggered backwards but before he could recover Sauron attacked mercilessly, slashing him over and over and listening with glee as he roared in pain. Sauron then swept her right hand over the buckle while holding the HorrorGasher in her left hand.

"**FULL CHARGE!**"

The energy within the belt once again transferred itself into the weapon but this time the blade didn't detach. Sauron then rushed at the Ifrit Orphenoch and slashed him across the chest with her energized blade. He was forced back into human form and collapsed at her feet.

_INSERT DYNAMIC DIVERGENCE_

Sauron was about to kill Ryuji when she was struck in the back by a burning ball of atomic energy, knocking her back and away from the injured Orphenoch. Sauron stood to her feet shakily, smoke wafting from the burns on her chest armor. "_Who… did… that?!_" She growled.

"That would be me."

She turned towards it and her eyes widened in shock. "_What the hell?! You three?!_" Eiji smirked, his left fist clutched tightly to hide the burns. Beside him stood Takuya and Morisato, both weaponless and standing proudly beside their leader.

"Father said this, "The more the merrier." You seem eager to mess with a monster, so why not try me on for size?" Eiji held up his right wrist as his watch shifted to its true form as a K-Zector. "Execute! Kaiju Spirit Evolution!"

Takuya grinned savagely, gripping his own K-Zector. "Execute! Kaiju Spirit Evolution!"

"Execute! Kaiju Spirit Evolution!" yelled Morisato, holding his K-Zector tight.

"WAKE UP!" A robotic voice proclaimed as Eiji's form was enveloped in a cocoon of light with branches of lightning circling like sharks around its crystalline surface. While on the outside, one would see a human sized cocoon but that concept would be immediately thrown out the window should one actually witness what was occurring within.

It was a void devoid of life, form, or function where only two things stood. One was Eiji Kusanagi, his arms spread wide as he roared like a primordial beast, the towering creature behind him reciprocating the call as it burst into beams of light that appeared as pieces of black armor grafted themselves to his form. He fell down through the void and landed on a small pentagon that served as the only means of standing in the dark expanse. He raised his arm upwards and shot a beams of atomic light into the sky, tearing a hole large enough for him to burst out into the primary world. The cocoon of light burst and faded from sight as the Black Rider stood where once a seemingly normal boy had just moments ago.

"KAMEN RIDER GOJIRA!"

He wore a leather-like black bodysuit underneath the charcoal-gray that was the dominant color of his armor and his helmet was shaped to resemble the head of some kind of carnivorous dinosaur. Along the back of his armor was a row of small metallic spikes that were only a few inches in length. The gauntlets ended in sharp claws and the visor, which was the "mouth" of the helmet, was a dark red. The gauntlet on his left arm held a cell phone sized device that was a more defined shape of the dinosaur's head that made up his helmet while the gauntlet on his right held a large blaster-gun of some sort.

Nothing living could stand this darkness for long so it was fortunate that the one living individual had only need be there for a moment's time. Takuya Yashima, his arms spread wide like wings as he screamed like a primordial falcon, the crimson flyer above him reciprocating the call as it burst into beams of light that appeared as pieces of red armor grafted themselves to his form. He fell down through the void and landed on a small pentagon that served as the only means of standing in the dark expanse. He reached through the void and grasped his Primal Blade tight and, with a samurai's battle cry, slashed it down in a diagonal arc that flew through the darkness and sliced its way into the light.

"KAMEN RIDER RODAN!"

He stood tall, at least a foot taller than Gojira, and his bodysuit was colored a dark goldenrod while the armor itself was a dark red. His helmet was shaped like a pteradactyl's head with not one but two crests jutting out from the top. His dark gray hair fell past his shoulders and was tied into a tight ponytail that wavered in the wind that seemed to constantly surround him. His visor was shaped like the wings of a pterosaur and was a vibrant blue. Strapped to his left wrist was a device that was also shaped like a pair of wings while his right hand held a serrated katana.

It was a form of darkness devoid of life, form, or function where only two things stood. One was Morisato Akichi, his arms spread wide as he roared like a primordial beast, the towering quadruped behind him reciprocating the call as it burst into beams of light that appeared as pieces of brown armor grafted themselves to his form. He fell down through the void and landed on a small pentagon that served as the only means of standing in the dark expanse. He raised his arm upwards, clutching his Ankylo Hammer tight, and slammed it down hard on the ground, the force shattering through the void and into the primary world.

"KAMEN RIDER ANGUIRUS!"

His bodysuit and armor were both two different shades of brown and his helmet was shaped more like an ankylosaur's with three sharp, yellow spikes running down the sides of his jaw. He had a pair of spikes jutting out from his shoulders and thighs and there was a spiked club attached to the side of his belt. He was a head shorter than Gojira and was more on the wide side though he had similar muscularity to the Black Rider. What was really odd though was the long jagged scar running down the side of his orange-tinted visor that resembled a scar from an animal's claw.

Gojira made a faint motion with his hand and, with a firm nod, Anguirus and Rodan backed towards the downed Ifrit Oprhenoch and stunned Kotonoha, both unknowingly battling for who held the greater amount of surprise at the appearance of these three Riders.

"_What?_" snarled Sauron, her focus entirely on the Black Rider and dismissing the other two completely. "_Godzilla? That's impossible! It's nothing but a piece of over-dramatic fiction!_"

"Fictionalize this. _Atomic Fire!_" A fireball of atomic energy blasted out from Gojira's cannon but Sauron managed to dodge the strike and started closing the distance between them even as the Daikaiju Rider continued firing upon her. Just when she got within striking range of her sword though, Gojira reached down and twisted his K-Zector around. "Cast-On!"

"CAST-ON!" A flash of light and brilliant energy sent Sauron stumbling back, nearly blinded from the intensity of the light. "CHANGE KAIJU OKAMI!" Once she were able to see again, Sauron saw that there was now a row of holographic, crystalline spines running down Gojira's back and a large serpentine tail that waved in the air behind him. The spines and tail both were a brilliant silver color though they were translucent and his nuclear symbol faintly aglow with the same light.

"_Hmph. Quite a makeover but it seems I have the advantage here._" She held up her HorrorGasher. "_Your attack is too slow to keep up with me!_"

"We'll see won't we?" Gojira took a battle stance. "Come and step into my parlor said the chimera to the knight. Come and know me."

"_Quit your blathering and DIE!_" Sauron charged forward, swiping her hand over the buckle of her belt.

"**FULL CHARGE!**" Energy shot forward into the blade of the sword, which detached itself from the HorrorGasher and was sent flying through the air, rotating faster than the eye could see. Sauron twisted tightly, bringing her weapon down and around in what would have been a vicious double-chop had Gojira not charged straight for her, closing the distance between them. His holo-spines shined brightly with radiation as he slammed his fist into her torso with a roar.

"_Atomic Beam!_" An explosion of atomic energy burst from the G-Force Cannon and sent Sauron flying high into the air with a pained scream. Ending the attack, Gojira turned to the others.

"Rodan!"

"Cast-On!" The Crimson Rider twisted his K-Zector around and leapt skywards as the device announced the transformation.

"CAST-ON! CHANGE SORA BUSHI!" With a flash of blinding light, Rodan flew proud with his armored boots now bedecked with the hologram of a pterosaur's feet while the wings on his back flapped to gain greater height than Sauron. The holograms were a dull shade of red but did not appear too threatening. The rockets on his back exploded with energy, sending him past the sound barrier and high above the tumbling Sauron. He twisted tightly in mid-air, unsheathing the Primal Blade. "_Slicing Hurricane Gale!_"

Below, Anguirus ran forward as the vacuum blade of air impacted against Sauron and sending her rocketing back down to the earth and slamming into the ground with an explosion of dust and debris. "Cast-On!" He twisted his K-Zector around.

"CAST-ON! CHANGE DINO PANZER!" A flash of neon light and there was a yellow shell now adorning Anguirus' back, though it was not the kind you would expect. It was shaped and designed like an armadillo's shell but with sharp spikes sticking at least half-a-foot outwards.

Anguirus leapt high into the air, curling into a tight ball as energy raced through his holo-carapace. "_Spinball Assault!_" He slammed down, rotating at high velocity and sending more dust into the air before he leapt up and away to land beside Gojira as Rodan hovered above them both.

The smoke finally cleared, revealing a de-transformed Katherine on the ground beside her Imagin partner. The Riders watched as she picked herself from the ground with Grimm's help and she glared at them with her inhuman eyes.

"You… That's it! I'm fed up with this place! I'm out of here!" The haunting tune of the HorrorLiner played in the air as the demonic time train arrived. It sped towards Katherine and Grimm and the demonic skull head of the train opened its mouth to devour them before racing away into an exit portal. Obviously, she and her Imagin minion had boarded her train and fled.

"Chicken-bitch," muttered Rodan.

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Eiji Kusanagi was not one to believe in fate or destiny or anything of the sort but even a near atheist like himself couldn't help but question the motives of the higher powers during situations such as this. Having all unanimously voted to remain in the "School Days World" after talking with the ChronoLiner owner, Ant, Eiji had expected life to return to normal and he could, at last, gain some semblance of peace. Of course, such a thing was not meant to be as, apparently thanks to that Sauron character, the barrier on this world was now open to other threats, namely time-travelling creatures known as Imagin. Fortunately, or not as the case often was, it seemed the young Ryuji Hasuma had taken up the task of being the Kamen Rider of this world, his exchange for being allowed to remain. However, upon seeing how well he handled his first Imagin, Eiji had done something he didn't think he'd do for a long time.

He took Ryuji on as his student.

The temperamental ruffian didn't go along with the idea willingly at first though. No, it took a match between the two of them to decide whether the boy would devote himself to the Kusanagi school of martial arts. The fight was as long as it was brutal and were it not for their mutual inhuman healing abilities the two of them would have killed each other or dropped from exhaustion. For most of it, the two were rather evenly matched up until Eiji had enough of evaluating Ryuji's prowess and pressed to the attack. In the end, it came with Eiji as the victor and Ryuji as the student. Still, despite the Hasuma's obvious prowess to the martial arts, there were times that Eiji found the boy… not truly lacking more like his mind was in another place.

Like now for example.

Eiji threw a small pebble that hit Ryuji right between the eyes. "Damn it, stop doing that!"

"Either meditate for real or tell me what's got you so troubled, Ryuji. Empathic I may be, but mind reader I am not." Eiji replied calmly. Ryuji seemed ready to refuse but deflated some and looked out from the dojo towards the sakura tree that rested alone in the yard behind the house.

"It's… about Kotonoha." Ryuji didn't say anything more.

"This would be the part where you continue with your earlier statement, baka-deshi."

A vein throbbed on Ryuji's forehead and the temperature dropped for a moment. "I just… Damn it, I don't know if she really loves me for me or if I'm just the rebound guy!"

Eiji stared at the boy as though he were insane. "Are you joking? Baka, I get headaches whenever you two are near!" Well, not completely true. Eiji did have the capability of turning his powers "off" but the rare moment he was caught by surprise… "Where on earth did you get such a ridiculous notion?"

"I know she accepts me but it's the part of me that doesn't exist! She doesn't know anything about my past or how I used to be like." Ryuji looked down at the cold hardwood floor. "You know that I'm not human. I'm an Orphenoch, born a freak and a killer. No way can she love someone like me."

Eiji frowned. He knew the term Orphenoch quite well. He had made Ryuji tell him everything after their match and had accepted it. He'd be a hypocrite if he didn't. Still… if his idiot student could tell him his story, then could he not do the same? "Haven't you ever wondered about why I am a Kamen Rider, or where my power comes from?"

Ryuji spared the taller boy a half-hearted glare and shrugged. "Figured it wasn't any of my business since you refused to speak to anyone but Ant."

"Hrmm…" The punk was learning, good. "That was before I took you on as my student, which makes you my responsibility. I told you when we first started that being my student meant being constantly at risk. I'll tell you why."

Ryuji looked up, as interested as he was confused. What point was Eiji trying to make?

"In my world, there were monsters like nothing you could ever believe. You've seen those giant monster films before I take it?" At Ryuji's nod, Eiji continued, "Those are nothing but lies. They are nothing compared to the real thing, seeing something alive yet beyond mortal comprehension tearing your once ordinary world out from underneath you just for the sake of its own survival. The daikaiju, as they were called, were as great as they were terrible but none that came after their King ever earned the distinction of being called a Living Natural Disaster. I'm sure, in your travels, you've heard his name before."

"Godzilla." Ryuji responded. "I remember but what does this have to do with you?"

"Nothing, and everything. I was born nearly half-a-century after the daikaiju were tricked into being sealed into small stone statues. How and why is a story for another time." Eiji's glare dared for Ryuji to say otherwise. He didn't and Eiji continued. "About ten years before I was born, a meteor shower struck the earth, decorating it with alien crystals. This event, called the Crystal Incursion, marked the beginning of the end for my world. The Crystals weren't just ordinary stone; they were alive. They could think, they could plan, and they could influence the human mind and turn our bodies into living bombs if people were exposed to them for too long. Most of my world was largely uninhabitable by the time I was born.

"So what few brilliant minds left tried to devise a way to stop the Crystal Incursion. One of those minds was my father and it was because of him that the Kamen Riders came to be. He and another scientist devised a way to utilize the power of the Kaiju-Spirit Stones to combat the Crystals ."

"Wait, so that means that…" Ryuji's eyes fell down to the K-Zector on Eiji's wrist. "When you become Gojira… the power you draw from—"

"Is the same power that man locked away in the first place." Eiji laughed tonelessly. "It would be ironic if it weren't so tragic. Using the K-Zectors," Eiji held up his arm so that his black watch could be seen with the image of Godzilla flashing across the surface in deep silver lines. "We're able to access the power of the Kaiju we hold. Though it's not without its consequences…"

"Consequences?"

"Aside from our humanity," Eiji spoke bluntly. "We could lose our minds if we disengaged all the safety protocols my father installed in them."

"Your humanity?" asked Ryuji.

"Being a Kamen Rider is both a gift and a curse. Aside from accessing the power of the Kaiju, we gained a few new genes which give us our paranormal power." Eiji explained. "We are as "inhuman" as you in a way. True you may have access to a bestial form but then, so do we if we chose to engage the BioMerge System. You say you're a freak and a killer? I say you're about as normal as anyone can be under your circumstances."

"Yeah right!" growled Ryuji. "In case you've forgotten, I was "born" from the negative emotions of Ryuki's subconscious! More so than you, I am a real monster!"

Eiji sighed, feeling strangely tired and looking down at his hands where he imagined bloodstains. "A monster is something that doesn't recognize the pain it inflicts on itself or on others, only the pleasure it gets from doing so. A monster doesn't care if it hurts people or its own heart. You may have felt that way once but you don't anymore. You were willing to die for the sake of your heart and I know you'd do so again if it meant protecting her."

"It doesn't change the fact that I've done horrible things," said Ryuji. "If Koto-chan knew she'd hate me."

"Why don't you ask her yourself, baka-deshi?"

Ryuji looked up in shock to see Kotonoha standing at the doorway leading into the dojo. She'd been standing there since the beginning and Ryuji hadn't noticed her there at all.

"Koto-chan…?"

"I'll leave you two alone," said Eiji as he walked away, his job done. It was in Kotonoha's hands now. Looking down at his hand, he flexed his fingers and watched as claws grew in place of ordinary nails and black, leathery scales slowly descended down to his wrist. "More so than I? Ryuji, you've no idea how wrong you are…"

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It was a good thing that Ryuji's watch could detect Imagin activity. As soon as the alarm from it blared, both Eiji and him were on their bikes and headed towards the source. The Imagin in question was definitely a strong one judging by the intensity of the signal.

"Henshin!" Ryuji called out as he slipped the Rider Pass into his belt.

"Execute! Kaiju Spirit Evolution!" called out Eiji as he activated his K-Zector.

"IFRIT FORM!"

"WAKE UP!"

"Let's Ride!" Ifrit called as he accelerated. "Catch me if you can, Kusanagi!"

* * *

_To Be Continued...

* * *

_

**A/N Inspiration:**

_While I am by no means a true fan of School Days, as the ending leaves much to be desired, but having read Kamen Rider Chrome's works I find myself liking it more than I had at first glance. In fact, it was more because of Kamen Rider Chrome that I was able to write this segment as both he and I have conversed on how our two characters, Ryuji and Eiji, would interact with one another as both can be considered as "monsters". Someday, he and I might truelly write a full crossover involving our own sets of characters but, for now, the two of us have our own epics to work on.  
_

* * *

Next Reflection...

_"Genesis__"_


	7. Genesis

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.  
**

* * *

**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_Genesis_

"Fourteen… Fifteen… Sixteen…" Whispers, soft and gentle from a voice weary for one still in his teenaged years.

"Why are you doing that?" A question, spoken by one whose experience with the heart and its emotions were near nonexistent.

"Hrm?"

"You are counting aloud for every stroke of the hairbrush, I wish to know why."

"Ah… it's something my sister used to do whenever she combed her hair. A hundred strokes for a shining luster." Nostalgia was mixed with a sense of despair as memories of an emerald-haired beauty marked his mind amidst the scent of roses.

"Is it not nothing more than myth?"

"I believe the better term would be 'old wive's tale' and I've no idea honestly. Asagi had beautiful hair since I could remember. Almost as beautiful as your own, my dear." His hand gentle stroked her baby-blue locks, smiling at its silk-like texture.

"… You… embarrass me…" Ivory cheeks turned red with the increased flow of blood,

"I speak only in truth, as you should already know." He resumed brushing her hair.

"Hmmm…" Pink turned to red as the memory came to mind of a sunny beach and a day of fun and amusement for all involved. "It is still too revealing…"

"Yet you wore it anyway," he smiled, knowing what she spoke of almost immediately, "and kept it hidden away in your closet, yes?" A soft nod, crimson eyes fell down to the article she wore now, a simple button-down shirt, quite large on her frame but it was not of her choice. It was all he had to offer her until her uniform dried out and even then he refused to take her out into a storm in the middle of the night.

He offered her his room and bed and had already made a bed for himself out of his couch, the same the two were currently sitting on now. He didn't ask her any questions, just took her into his home without a word and set her to a warm bath lest she catch a cold. He kept his eyes firmly away from her until she was dressed, something that was… disappointing to her.

"Something troubling you?" He paused in his ministrations. She leaned back, silently asking for him to continue but more to feel the warmth of his body against her own. A month ago, she could count the times someone willingly touched her on one hand but now, having been properly introduced to so many wonderful things, she found the simple things the most pleasurable. "There's no one hear to listen but me, you can say what you want."

She remained silent for a long moment before turning her head to look up into his burnt-orange eyes. "What is love?"

"Eh?"

"What is love, by your definition?" Her eyes stared into his own, unblinking in their intensity.

"Love, huh?" He smiled teasingly. Though he was curious he kept his empathy to himself and answered, "Love is… love is patient and kind. Love gives you the strength to do impossible things. It transcends space and time, and can bridge the gap of the largest divide. Sometimes, the love you're looking for is right under nose." He poked her nose, earning an irritated glare for his troubles. "Everyone loves, Rei. It's just a matter of how much love they have to give."

"So what is true love then?" Her eyes refused to leave his, her infinite patience almost wearing thin.

"True love, eh?" He couldn't resist the teasing smirk, but relented. "True love is… in a roundabut way… something like sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?"

A firm nod. "True love means putting another's happiness above your own."

She remained quiet and without another word, he continued brushing her hair until he reached the full one-thousand. Setting the brush aside, he stretched as he stood, about to get ready for bed when she suddenly spoke, "Do you love me, Eiji-kun?"

He stopped and turned to look at her. For the first time she since she met him, the last Kusanagi looked surprised, nay stunned out of his mind. "I… Rei… You know what you're asking."

"I do."

"You know when you hear the answer, it will change things. The promise will become a guarantee, no matter what you or Shinji say, he will pay for what he's done and what he will do to the both of you. There will be no more secrets between you and I, secrets that will shatter everything you've perceived as reality. I'll give you this one chance, Rei. One chance to take it back and be safe in your ignorance."

"… We will be one?"

He blushed and looked aside. He knew she was teasing him now. "We will be the other's support. We will share our pains, our sorrows, our smiles, and our laughs. To many we will seem as one but between us there will be yin and yang. Two pieces of one whole." She stared at him and he relented a small secret. "Not until there are rings on both our fingers." She seemed disappointed and he relented just a bit more, his face turning a healthy shade of red. "My promise extends only to siring, not to the… experience…"

"I understand."

"So knowing all of this, are you sure you want to know the whole truth?"

"Yes." He gave her no more quarter. Lifting her chin up, he pressed his lips to her own. The kiss lasted for as long as the two could forget their need to breathe and even then, they were hesitant in pulling back. They were both gasping for air, flushed from the kiss and lack of air. Rei Ayanami's eyes drifted up to look upon his face, smiling gently as she had that first time not so long ago. A pale hand strayed to the buttons of her shirt.

"About the experience…"

* * *

_To Be Continued...

* * *

_

**A/N Inspiration:**

_Evangelion has been a favorite anime of mine for some time now though I'll admit to not comprehending the story fully until like a decade later but hey, it's a classic in mecha-type anime and I won't lie and while there have been several good crossover stories of Evangelion, those that feature Godzilla are few and updated even less. Truthfully, if I did write such a fic, it'd likely feature, Gojira, Gamera, Caesar, and Midoriko._

* * *

Next Reflection...

_"Fear__"_


	8. Fear

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**DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.  
**

* * *

**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_Fear_

Takuya snorted, twirling his redwood wand loosely in his hand. "Something funny, huh?"

"Challenging for you, eh Tak-kun?"

"Shut your trap, Akichi." The Yashima didn't allow his eyes to shift from the shaking wardrobe. "Sensei, as amusing as it'd be to see the runt make fun of the bartender-bastard, I'd like a chance to see this fucker for myself."

Their professor sighed, wondering if it was even worth taking points away from the boy for his foul language when it was quite obvious he didn't care if he could out-cuss a sailor. "Alright then. Step forward please, Mr. Yashima." Takuya did so, grinning a familiar evil grin that had half of the students shivering in fear, one pale-blonde youth in particular looked ready to wet his pants at the daunting sight. "Ready…? _Alohomora_!"

The lock shattered and the wardrobe door burst open in a cloud of ashen smoke. Takuya's grin widened, ready to cast the first battle-spell that came to mind but the words were caught in his throat at the sight of the boggart's form.

It was a young girl, barely eight years old and dressed in a plain blue kimono staring up at him with eyes so much like his own. "Kaoru…?"

"Big Brother… why didn't you believe me?" her eyes were wet as tears flowed down her face. "She's a bad person, Brother!"

Takuya's words were choked in his throat as a pale hand reached out from behind Kaoru and gently grasped her head. The little girl's eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent scream of agony as her life was drained from her young body. The grayed husk that remained fell to the floor with a hollow thump amidst the startled yells of the students. Standing above the little girl's corpse was a young woman, only slightly older than Takuya himself and a whole head shorter. Her purple hair was cropped rather short but a few locks fell past her ruby-colored eyes. She lifted her hand to her lips, licking the clawed fingers with a sigh.

"It was nothing personal, Lover. I was hungry."

Takuya was hyperventilating, his pupils dilated as he continued to stare at the dead form of his sister. A barely visible globe of orange-tinted energy appeared before Takuya, pulling him back and away from the boggart as Morisato leapt forward to stand before the dark creature.

"Now you're standing against me—" Morisato's words ended in abrupt croak as Ritsuko vanished in the blink of an eye to be replaced by another girl, smaller in height and only slightly younger in age. Her hair was cut short and was the color of freshly shined obsidian. Her amethyst color eyes stared at Morisato with pure adoration. She raised her hands, revealing several small Crystals all aglow with cosmic energies.

"Is this enough for you, Morisato-kun?" Her skin ruptured in bursts of blood as Crystals ripped through her skin but she remained standing even as she continued dying. "Is this enough?" The light of the Crystals in her hands and growing from her skin flashed brilliantly before blood gushed from her mouth as she asked one final time, "Is it enough for you?"

She fell to her knees, the Crystals breaking through bone and tearing through flesh as it slowly began to consume her body. A scream echoed in the silence of the classroom as a girl faded into sight beside the dead Espiga. Her long green hair was tied into a tight ponytail and her kunoichi uniform was torns in several places. She kneeled down next to the corpse, a hand raised to touch its face before it clenched into a tight fist. Kiri turned hated eyes towards the pale Morisato.

"She's dead! She's dead and it's all because of you! If she hadn't given her heart to you, she might still be alive! Damn you! DAMN YOU!" Her screams were silenced by a spiked club coming down onto her head. Brain matter and skull fragments flew through the air amidst screams of revulsion as a familiar spiked form stood towering over its victim. Morisato knew him well for it was himself in the armor of Anguirus, scarless and aglow with the power of the Crystals.

"I deserve nothing but the best." Critical-Mass Anguirus growled.

"Mori, get back!" Shiro jumped forward as Eiji dragged Morisato back from the boggart. "Rid—" Shiro's eyes widened in a blaze of mana energy. Standing before him was a girl a year his junior with hair like freshly fallen snow and skin as pale as milk. Her vibrantly pink eyes marked her as an albino. She smiled, her eyes turning red as she spoke.

"The human Gabriel is dead, Genbu-spawn. Now there is only the collective. We are LEGION!" She screamed as swarms of miniscule insects swarmed forth from her mouth, eliciting more screams from the hapless students behind Shiro. The swarm gathered tightly around Legion's body before suddenly falling in the shape of rose petals on the wind. A new girl had replaced Legion, the same age as Shiro himself with hair colored like the deeper forests and falling down to the small of her back in emerald waves. Her eyes were a dark orange, almost red, and she smiled sadly at Shiro.

"Asagi…" whispered the pacifist.

"You've forgotten me, Shiro…" she whispered, the rose petals twirling around her slowly began to wither and die. "You've broken your vow…"

"I haven't!"

"You have… was I so unimportant to you?"

"No! I—" A sickening squelch sound as blood splattered the floor, a steel pillar piercing through her torso. "ASAGI!"

"Shiro, move!" Eiji roughly pulled Shiro back, raising his wand with his other hand to prepare to fire a spell that'd likely get him expelled when the boggart suddenly shifted form again. In Eiji's defense, it could be that the familiarity of his nightmares had worn the edges off them. Experiencing the same dark dreams repeatedly over a good portion of his life, some details tend to become blurred. However, the unique defensive magic of the boggart didn't care about such trivialities. It seized the strongest negative image in Eiji's mind and reproduced it in perfect details for its victim.

Shiro, both his arms gone and a gaping wound through his torso, so like the one that ended his sister's life. Takuya, his neck cut open and gushing blood to the floor as he struggled to breathe. Morisato, his skin nearly burned completely away and the scar over his eye fresh and bleeding once more. His father, Raijin Kusanagi, standing before him with disappointment in his eyes before he fell to the floor with a rattle of bones as an aged man dressed in a crimson colored tuxedo walked forward to stand before Eiji, his spikeish hair colored like blood on his ashen-skinned face. He grinned, revealing several sharpened canines, and a cloud of micro-oxygen blew in a strong gust between them.

"Do you remember me, Eiji?" He continued walking forward even as Eiji started backing away, the color gone from his face, his pupils nothing but pinpricks in his eyes. As he moved, Serizawa began to change, crustacean wings like those of a bat burst from his back and other ghastly things began to turn him from man to monster. "When I killed your father, I looked – just – _like – THIS!_"

Destroyah roared amidst the terrorfied screams of the students. A cloud of micro-oxygen burst from the living bioweapon's mouth before the grandhorn atop its crustaceous head glowed brightly and a thick beam of energy burst forth from it in a reflection of its shape. Eiji was beyond the brinks of fear, already drowning in a black sea of terror with not a liferaft in sight. Seeing the creature that murdered his father and caused him such misery, Eiji had nothing left in his mind to find humorous enough to change it into even if he remembered the incantation. As it was, Eiji used the one spell he had seen Naraku and Midoriko use together for the power it needed to be born.

"_ULTIMA!_"

* * *

_To Be Continued...

* * *

_

**A/N Inspiration:**

_I'll admit that if I'd ever do a Harry Potter story, it would involve Battra and Mosura as the twins are the only ones capable of performing magic. Might just do that so I can allow Naraku to meet Umbridge. I imagine those two would get along so spendidly don't you think? Truthfully, I wanted to experiment with a boggart than anything else, especially after I read a well-written Naruto/Harry Potter x-over that had a similar circumstance._

* * *

Next Reflection...

_"A Little Faith__"_


	9. A Little Faith

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**DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.  
**

* * *

**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_A Little Faith_

"I can't believe you're buying this, Shiro." Eiji growled under his breath, sparing a not-so heated glare at the object of his ire. "It's a wolf, nothing more than that!"

It was only because of the wolf's nearby presence that prevented the normally pacif Shiro from smacking his adopted brother upside the head for his lack of respect. "She is no mere wolf! If you'd just stop and look at her…"

"All I see is a wolf with a loud little flea for a travel companion!" snarled Eiji. Thankfully, said little companion was asleep alongside the wolf in the darkness of the cave that had become their shelter for the night.

"That flea is who Issun was named for and you know that!" Shiro whispered harshly. "You acknowledge that we're in the past, that there are true demons of old roaming about, but you're not willing to accept who and what she is?"

Eiji didn't respond to the question, instead getting to his feet and exiting the cave. "I'm going for a walk."

"Little Brother!" Shiro sighed tiredly and shook his head. His eyes glowed faintly with mana and he bowed his neck slightly. "I apologize for him, My Lady. The world we lived in was harsh for all of us, a world where even I had doubts of you…"

The White Wolf stood gazing silently into the darkness, she looked once more to Shiro before giving something of a smile on her muzzle as she trotted off after Eiji. Shiro watched her go, the little ponticle snoring loudly behind him.

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"What does Shiro know? Goddess my foot…" Eiji stood pacing in the darkness of the bamboo forest, ignoring the curious wildlife that stared at him from the shadows. He ignored them not because they were of no threat, they were mere animals not vicious demons, but more because they proved Shiro's point. The wolf was something else, yes he'd admit that much, if it was –is– willing to feed what could be its own dinner as well as competition for the prey. The fact that the animals just fawned after the wolf when it fed them was just plain eerie.

Then there was the plants…

Eiji had seen patches of dirt and rock suddenly burst into blooming flowers, trees bare as meatless skeletons suddenly gain fresh life in hues of green and had even seen new life sprout from the ground in a manner of minutes instead of years. He had seen magic thanks to Midoriko and though he held no favor towards it, Eiji was willing to acknowledge its existence in life but this… this was something else entirely.

He had watched life be renewed, the broken healed to beyond what they once were, had watched water and fire flow through the air with intricate grace, the blackness become filled with stars and the moon shining once more in the sky. He had seen demons and monsters of a mythical time be cut down and banished to the ether by means he couldn't, wouldn't see for himself. He had seen an ancient demon lord rise up from the darkness and for the first time for as long as he could remember, Eiji felt fear in his heart.

All thanks to that wolf.

He turned and wasn't surprised to find her sitting there calm as can be, watching him in a way that reminded him of his nearly forgotten childhood. She cocked her head, curious but not angry with him as he believed her to be. He growled, made angrier by the wolf's behavior.

"You're a wolf, damn it! A magical one, I'll give you that much, but nothing else beyond that! You can't be anything else!" He blinked harshly, tears falling from embered eyes. "You can't be…"

She sat there, silently watching. A gust of wind blew high above them, shifting the clouds until the moon was shown in all its glory, shining creamy white light down upon the forest glade. Eiji stood in the dark, eyes staring as the light seemed to twist and flow around the wolf, fur falling in soft strokes by an unseen hand. A child's laughter and the moon seemed to shine brighter and for just the briefest of moments, Eiji unknowingly allowed the tiniest bit of belief into his heart.

It was enough for him to See.

Embered orbs widened in the black as red lines spread like warpaint along the wolf's face and body, creating intricately beautiful designs that were impossible in the natural world. The beads that hung lifelessly from her neck sudden moved and flowed in a tight circle, no longer held together by ordinary string but by an unseen force. A disk alight with the sun's fire floated on her back, doing lazy circles as it burned in the air but did the wolf no obvious harm.

Eiji couldn't help but gape openly at the sight. He closed his suddenly dry mouth and swallowed. Did he dare to say her name? The wolf barked happily, her tongue lolling out between glistening fangs in a pure doggy grin but for a moment… he could have sworn he had seen not a wolf but a woman the likes of which he had never seen, never believed to exist for her beauty could not be compared to anything mortal. This was who Shiro spoke of so reverently, the one person that Eiji couldn't bring himself to believe in for her absence in his world.

'_But this isn't my world,_' he realized. '_She wasn't there when we needed her but… she's here now… Can I really forgive her… or myself…? Can I put my trust in someone I've never trusted to begin with…?_'

For a long moment, there was silence between them.

Slowly, Eiji kneeled down before the wolf, his right hand clutched in a fist over his heart as he bowed his head. "Okami Amaterasu, origin of all that is good and mother to us all… I, Eiji Kusanagi, swear myself to thee. Call when you have need of me; ask what you will of me. My power, my service, is yours. All I ask is your forgiveness for my lack of… faith…"

A hand placed itself firmly upon his shoulder and he saw warm eyes like the sun and the moon in gentle unity in a face pale as milk framed by hair colored of freshly fallen snow with the markings of kami burning a gentle red on her flesh. A warm but sad smile grew like a blooming flower on her face as her hand rose to gently grasp his chin. She leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to his forehead and was wolf once more in his eyes but the mark, the feelings, were still there and for the first time in as long as he could remember, Eiji wept.

* * *

_To Be Continued...

* * *

_

**A/N Inspiration:**

_Okami has been a favorite video game of mine for some time now and while realistically, I'd never make such a crossover, a friend of mine brought to my attention how Shiro was the only one of the Daikaiju Riders who still had his faith and I wanted to give even just little bit of it back to Eiji, who had no real reason to believe in the first place. Besides that, it is a bit of a teaser in a way, for those familiar with Shinto and the legend of the Yamata no Orochi._

* * *

Next Reflection...

_"A Leaf on the Wind__"_


	10. A Leaf on the Wind

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.  
**

* * *

**The OtherSide**

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

_Leaf on the Wind_

She stood tall and proud though she barely topped five feet. Her vibrantly green hair was cut short with a pair of bangs brushed back along her head like the antennae of a small but deadly insect. She was dressed in a tight-fitting leather bodysuit colored in shades of green and brown with a darker cloak wrapped loosely around her shoulders. The lower half of her face was hidden by the cloak but one could still see the ugly scars the fell in an X-shaped pattern between her amber eyes. Like her teammates, she wore no hitai-ate to indentify her village.

Across from her stood Zaku of the the Sound Village, her opponent in this preliminary match.

"Kiri." The kunoichi, Kiri Natchios, turned amber eyes up towards her leader though he was operating in a different team then her own for their mission. Eiji Kusanagi stood with his arms crossed, his eyes serious and his voice stern. "Do what you will so long as it ends quickly."

Beneath the mask of her cloak, Kiri smiled, a hoarse chuckle coming deep from her chest. Slowly, like dust blowing on a gently drifting wind, the kunoichi began to vanish from sight until she was gone from all eyes, even those gifted eyes of the Hyuuga present in the chamber. The youngest gasped in shock, too stunned for words while the elder frowned and believed it to be an advanced form of genjutsu but there was no way to prove it otherwise unless he indirectly interefered with the match.

Zaku looked about wildly, his planned ruse forgotten as he moved his arms about to fire a destructive blast of vacuumed air at any slight sign of his opponent's whereabouts. A sound of tearing stone and a deep gouge appeared on the floor directly beside Zaku who jumped to the side before rolling away just as another tear was made just short of where his head was.

"Total slaughter, total slaughter… I won't leave a single man alive…" Kiri's raspy voice echoed in the enclosed arena. "Ladidadidie… Genocide… Ladidadidud… an ocean of blood!"

"Where are you bitch?! Come out and face me for real!" screamed Zaku, wildly firing blades of air about the battlefield but he received no answer but the final lines of Kiri's song.

"Let's begin… the killing time!" A loud clang and roar of rushing air echoed in the arena before Kiri was suddenly there, a good several meters behind Zaku. She stood balanced over a large battle-scythe which was embedded deep into the floor and though her arms were crossed tight over her chest with her cloak billowing about, one could see the tell-tale signs of a pair of kusarigama held tightly in her hands.

Zaku turned, grinning madly as he prepared to fire a _Decapitating Air Wave_ when he saw the blood pooling at the blade of the battle-scythe. As though aware of his confusion, Kiri turned and shrugged, revealing the blood that dripped from the serrated blades of her kusarigama. Zaku's eyes widened just before they became dull and glasslike. With a wet sounding squelch, the Sound ninja's arms fell from his shoulders just before his torso fell backwards to the floor with his legs still standing. Upon landing on the bloodied floor, Zaku's body split perfectly in half.

A stunned silence overcame the audience at the gruesome outcome, interrupted only by the occasional sounds that came from those not yet prepared for such a bloodied victory. Kiri flicked her wrists, flinging the blood from her scythes and vanishing them back to within the folds of her cloak. With a solitary hand, she pulled her battle-scythe free and with an experience twist and twirl, returned it to its dormant state of a small but seemingly plain steel rod no longer than her forearm.

With her weapons back in their holsters, Kiri made way to join her teammates when she felt more than saw the gaze of Gaara upon her. She turned to meet his stare without fear, merely arcing an eyebrow as though amused by the younger boy's attention. Though unfelt by her, Kiri was aware of the spike of killing intent directed at the Sand jinchuriki if only by his eyes immediately shifting towards Eiji. The staring contest continued until, at last, Gaara backed down and looked away, silently promising the demon within him the glorious blood it desired, though it may well be his own blood that would be paid.

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Ushiwaka Urashima tilted his head, frowning in confusion at his opponent when he suddenly remembered and he grinned with feral amusement. Of his "team", Waka knew this world the best. In point of fact, it was entirely thanks to his knowledge that they were in the midst of their greatest mission yet. His ego was stroked even more so by the opponent selected for him. At first, he had been concerned he'd have to fight one of the pre-destined winners or worse, one of his own comrades, but fate was rewarding him with his opponent.

Yoroi Akado, or as Waka preferred to call him, Sucky McSuck-Suck. The ninja was not only a traitor to his village but a chakra drainer to boot which put him in a serious disadvantage against Waka.

Yoroi stood back a fair distance, his gaze locked on the chakram strapped to the younger ninja's waist. Dressed just as conservatedly as Kiri, minus the cloak and with a more sand-like color scheme, Yoroi wasn't going to be fooled into a quick death like the idiot Zaku.

"Well, are you going to draw your weapons or are you going to make this even easier for me?" he goaded.

Waka smirked, "For you? Spare me your childish tripe! I refuse to sully my weapons with the blood of a traitor and a useless one at that."

"Useless?" growled Yoroi, ignoring the traitor jibe for now. He laughed, playing it off as a joke on Waka's part. "You know nothing of me or my skills and that will be your end!" He charged forward tossing kunai with one hand while the other glowed with odd-colored chakra. Waka met his charge with one of his own, dodging past the blades with grim determination. The two collided against each other, locking hands and pushing against each other like a pair of wrestlers.

'_Success!_' thought Yoroi, grinning beneath his mask as he felt the increase of his chakra reserves and the drop of Waka's own. His eyes narrowed slowly as he noticed Waka's reaction. The boy did not appear to weaken with increasing fatigue. In fact, Waka was grinning and his eyes… his eyes looked exactly like Orochimaru's own!

Suddenly, it was like fire had replaced the blood in his veins and Yoroi screamed in painfilled agony, breaking Waka's grip and falling back and clawing at his eyes as he felt them burn like coals in his skull, trying to alleviate the pain in any way possible but the damage was already done. Waka was a natural at the poison arts in both the literal and non-literal sense. There wasn't a single poison out there he didn't know about and was, in turn, completely immune to just as there was a weapon he wielded or a drop of blood in his veins that wasn't positively drowning in toxic cocktails.

By absorbing Waka's chakra, that which could be best described as the source of Waka's incredible abilities, Yoroi had signed his death warrant.

By the time the medic-nin's had arrived Yoroi's heart had stopped beating, but it hadn't stopped there. Though the blood had stopped pumping through his veins, the poison was still there, burning within the coils of Yoroi's chakra pathways with increasing temperature until, with a sudden flash, Yoroi's body went up in flames and he screamed his last breath before his body was nothing but a pile of smoking ash on the arena's floor.

Waka shook his head, just as surprised by this as everyone else. It was always his intention to poison Yoroi and killed him with one of his deadly cocktails but the youngest Urashima had underestimated the deadly potential of his chakra.

Oh well, at least he had something to play around with now.

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She stood calmy, without little emotion though she was only marginally taller than her female teammate. Her obsidian locks framed her face and fell to just above the base of her collar. She wasn't too beautiful but she was more than pretty; an average beauty. She wore a form-fitting leather bodysuit colored the same as her hair with lines of yellow marking it like the stripes of a tiger. She had no visible weapon though she wore the holsters common found for senbon needles on her wrists. Her pale purple eyes were hidden behind a pair of white goggles shaped rather like the eyes of a demonic spider.

"You can do it, Espi-chan. I believe in you." Though the words were whispered Espiga Parker heard them easily and she couldn't help the pleased blush on her cheeks nor the soft smile gracing her face. She glanced upwards towards where Morisato sat smiling warmly down at her, giving her a thumbs-up with Takuya and Kiri stood behind him sharing looks of disgust. Though Morisato and Takuya had opted to step out of the finals per Eiji's orders, they refused to leave their remaining teammates behind. Her eyes drifted over to Morisato's scar and she frowned slightly, her hand twitched to a similar scar on her left shoulder but she steeled herself. The past was forgotten and there were more important matters at hand. Her opponent for one thing.

Dosu Kinuta, a ninja from the Sound Village, a very bad person by Waka's accounts made more so by the fact that Kiri went invisible assassin on his teammate. Espiga could give him that small bit of credit for wanting to avenge his teammate's death but she knew it was misplaced in the end. Be it by another's hand, Zaku was destined to die and so to was Zaku. Her eyes narrowed behind her goggles, but in order for that to happen, he would have to win against her, something she couldn't, wouldn't, do. Still…

That didn't mean she'd play the part as his executioner.

Hayate's arm shot down. "Begin!" In an instant, Espiga was backflipping high into the air and landing along the wall of the arena. Dosu shot up after her, his Melody Arm pulled back for a deadly one-hit K.O. but like his teammate before him, he underestimated what her skills were. She shot out her hands in a special handsign and two lines of webbing shot out from her wrists with an audible "thwip!" Before Dosu could even realize it, he was completely wrapped in a tight net of webbing with two thick ropes of the stuff held tightly in her hands. Knowing that he would never believe her explanation of the web's properties, Espiga opted for the quick victory with a silent apology to Dosu.

She leapt forward, rolling tightly and taking Dosu along for the ride and sending him spinning a good three times before she landed and slammed him down on the ground, creating a large human sized crater in the process. She turned and pulled tightly, lifting Dosu out from the crater and spinning him above her head before she let him fly to the wall. Just after impact, she pulled the web tightly once more, pulling Dosu towards her until she delivered a mighty kick to his chin that sent the Sound ninja flying towards the ceiling.

Finally letting go of the web ropes, Espiga leapt up after him, overtaking him and ricocheting off the ceiling and delivering a punch to Dosu's face. The spider-like kunoichi increased her speed and proceeded to bounce about like a made pinball, delivering blow after blow upon Dosu, never once allowing him to fall to the ground until she had delivered over a dozen blows. Finally finishing her "Arachnophobia Assault", Espiga landed lightly on the railing beside her teammates, panting for air as Dosu landed with an audible crunch to the ground, his Melody Arm shattered beyond repair.

Even before the obvious winner was announced, Morisato had his arms wrapped around her waist and was spinning her about with sheer elation. "Ha! I knew you could take him easily! And in thirty seconds no less!" He held her close, hugging her tight and whispering into her hair. "You're amazing, Espi-chan…"

"Mori-kun…" She blushed, pressing her face into his neck and breathing his scent. "Thank you… for believing in me."

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Eiji stood glowering down at the battle taking place beneath him. A month of intense training and his protégé was still getting his ass kicked because of his desire to keep up that ridiculous façade of his. While the village idiot routine served as a good ruse, it would be too damaging to Naruto if he didn't let go of those habits sooner rather than later. He glanced out the corner of his eye and saw that Gaara's usual frown was just a tad deeper. Eiji could sense the irritation the younger boy felt. Of all the opponents he could face, Gaara was looking forward to fighting Naruto at full strength, something that wasn't likely to happen if Naruto didn't his act together.

"UZUMAKI!" Eiji's voice roared like a primordial beast across the large arena as it positively flooded under the oppressive weight of his killing intent. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Below, the fight had skidded to a sharp halt, Neiji too shocked and overwhelmed to move and Naruto… well, used to it though he was, he couldn't understand what his sensei was asking him. Pushing him to say, to do. "I… I'm…"

"You are embarrassing yourself by playing the fool. You are disappointing me, Nartuo." Though he was no longer shouting, Eiji's voice still carried across the vast coliseum. Naruto flinched as though struck by a whip. There were few things that Naruto hated more than disappointing his sensei and his friends.

"What are you doing, Sensei?" whispered words, too quiet for human ears. Eiji spared a momentary glance at Gaara and resumed speaking to Naruto.

"Show them the truth Naruto. Show them the sacrifice you've made for them and the burden you bare for them. Take their anger, take their sorrow, take their hatred. Take it for yourself and use it. Turn it back upon them. If they will not see you for the hero you are, make them see it. Become what your father decreed you as, twelve years ago Naruto Namikaze!"

Amidst the shocked gasps and screams of denial, Naruto frowned and looked down, seemingly at war with himself before he nodded and grasped the device attached to his wrist. "Execute! Kaiju Spirit Evolution!"

"WAKE UP!" A robotic voice roared as Naruto was enveloped in a cocoon of light with branches of crimson lightning circling like sharks around its crystalline surface. While on the outside, one would see a human sized cocoon that concept would be immediately thrown out the window should one actually witness what was occurring within.

It was a void devoid of life, form, or function where only two things stood. One was Naruto Uzumaki, his arms crossed tightly over his chest with his head bowed low as he growled like an angered beast. The towering demon behind him reciprocating the call with a roar that shook the heavens, its nine tails flashing through the air like whips before it burst into beams of light that appeared as pieces of crimson armor that grafted to his form. He fell down through the void and landed on a small pentagon that served as the only means of standing in the dark expanse. He raised his arm upwards and shot forth beams of demonic light that condensed into a singular blast into the sky, tearing a hole large enough for him to burst out into the primary world. The cocoon of light burst and faded from sight as the newly made Kamen Rider stood where once an extraordinary ninja had just moments ago.

His wore a tight leather bodysuit colored like a dark simmering orange with crimson armor over that. The thick combat boots were tipped with deadly claws at their tip, just like the gauntlets that adorned his hands, and seemed as though they were aflame from the way the air wavered around them. Attached to his right wrist was a large cannon-like device shaped like the skull of some kind of canine with the eyeholes aglow with crimson light. His helmet was tipped with what appeared to be a pair of long ears that belied the fierceness of the mask. Shaped like a demonic fox with a glimmering blue visor held tightly within its fanged jaws, it was both terrible and awe-inspiring.

"KAMEN RIDER YOUKO!"

The aptly named Youko cracked his neck. The audience, at least those that knew the full truth, was horrorfied by the transformation Naruto had undergone while those that were not aware of Naruto's prisoner were shocked and awed by the sheer power he seemed to radiate just by standing there. Beneath his helmet, Youko grinned, a bit of his old mischeviousness sneaking through. If they were shocked now, they'd be stunned witless by what he was about to do next.

Youko reached down to the K-Zector at his wrist, now shaped like nine fox tails twirled about in a tight circle, and twisted it halfway around. "Cast-On!"

"CAST-ON!" Intense beams of light burst from Youko before they died down to reveal the hard-light holograms that now adorned him. Translucent and colored the same as his armor were nine fox tails each longer than Youko was tall. "CHANGE DEMON FOX!"

Youko crouched low, aiming his Kyuu-Cannon straight for Neiji as swirling chakra gathered in its bony jaws.

"Believe it."

* * *

_To Be Continued...

* * *

_

**A/N Inspiration:**

_Truthfully, I used this world as a means to display the prowess of Kamen Riders Kamacuras and Kumonga in their non-armored forms since, personality wise, they're rather like some of the characters of the Naruto-world. Kiri (Kamacuras) is a younger, more blood-thirsty, version of Anko while Espiga (Kumonga) is a confident version of a certain Hyuuga. Though Waka works better with his siblings, any mission run with Kiri and Espiga at his side would be a sure-success as all three have had ninja training in their old world._

_Ah but what about the ending you may ask. What happened in the month between the second and third portions of the chunin exam, who did Eiji fight and win against, why is Gaara normal, and how did Naruto end up as a Kamen Rider? All very important questions that will be answered sometime in the near or far future in its own separate story._

* * *

Next Reflection...

_"Unity__"_


End file.
